The Adventure Through RuneScape
by Mainiac97
Summary: A young man called Mainiac97 enters RuneScape like any other person, but from the start it is obvious he isn't normal. Evil forces are gathering, creatures are going insane, darkness approaches, and it all seems to centre on him... COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1: Welcome to RuneScape!

_Hello! Welcome to 'the Adventure Through RuneScape'! I apologise for the lack of author notes up to about chapter 59. That is because I was forced to re-upload the whole story for one reason or another in the winter of 2009. That is also the reason there aren't many reviews compared to the amount of chapters (I lost 200+ reviews because of the reuploading). Also, a complete list of main characters and their owners can be found on chapter 83. _

_A sequel to this story has been released - it is called 'The Adventure Through RuneScape 2: Darkness Approaches' (although the 'Darkness Approaches' isn't part of the title due to character restraints).  
_

_The Adventure Through RuneScape and its sequel are part of a shared universe with Haseo the Terror of Death's The Sphere of Varrock. His story is placed one year behind The Adventure Through RuneScape. Although an understanding of that book isn't needed, I highly suggest you read it, not only because it is a good fanfiction, but because you will get some references in this story to that story.  
_

_Please enjoy the massive story I wrote especially for you.  
_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Jagex, RuneScape, or any of the RuneScape characters. All I own is the plot of this fanfiction and some of the characters in the story. I am not making a financial profit from this story._

_NOTE: The RuneScape celebrity Zezima has been referenced a few times in the story. Nothing major, just the occasional reference. I stress now that I do not own Zezima, never have, never will. Also, please note that the line "there is something on your back!" is repeated in the story. This is a reference to a show that I used to watch called Doctor Who. Again, nothing more than references._

* * *

**Prologue**

**(This prologue is an exctract from the end of the story)  
**

_Gasping for air, I ran up the stairs two at a time. I couldn't stop, or the consequences would be dire. If I stopped, even for a moment__, I would die. I'd come to terms with the fact that I would die at some point, but had that point arrived? I heard a taunting cackle from below. Panting, I forced myself to go up those stairs further._

* * *

_**THE ADVENTURE THROUGH RUNESCAPE**_

**Chapter 1: Welcome to RuneScape!**

There was a brilliant flash of blindingly bright light. I opened my eyes, and, after surveying my surroundings, I realised I was in a small house. The house was more or less empty. There were some stairs behind a locked door with a window in it. Potted plants and wooden chairs were scattered right throughout the room. There were several different people in this house. Another boy was talking to a man with an olive-green suit, olive-green cape, and a brown goatee. The man was bald, and had a large rucksack on his back. I decided to talk to this strange man.

In the end the man handed a small olive-green book clothes to the boy, who then left the house with a confident look on his face. A girl sat up, and went up to the man in green, who began talking to her. I sighed in frustration and impatience, and sat down on a wooden chair. I looked at a nearby mirror and saw what I looked like for the very first time.

I had smooth, black hair, and rosy cheeks. I wore a plain, grubby, blue shirt, with white sleeves. I wore blue trousers, which matched with my shirt. I also wore brown, simple shoes.

I was shocked at myself. How come I'd never looked at myself thoroughly before? It felt as if I'd just been born, and I knew how to talk, move, and do everything else a man should know how to do. But, I had no idea where I was, nor how I got there. All I knew was that I would progress far more if I asked for advice, and the man in the olive-green clothes seemed to be the one who was advising everyone.

The man handed the girl the exact same book he handed the boy earlier, and she left the house nervously. I was about to walk up to the man, when there was a flash of blinding white light, and another girl in simple green overalls appeared. The man just smiled warmly at her. I went up to him, but before I got the chance to say anything, he talked first.

"Welcome to RuneScape!" he boomed heartily. "I am the RuneScape guide, and I'm here to give you a head start and explain about this land. And who might you be?"

"My name is Mainiac97," I replied, without thinking. I frowned. How exactly did I know that was my name?

"Ah right, it's nice to meet you," the man replied warmly. "Well, anyway, RuneScape is a very big place, and dangerous too (the wilderness, for example). Before you can set foot in it, you've got to learn the basics of RuneScape on this island, Tutorial Island. You'll learn everything you can about RuneScape here; from cooking to killing, fishing to fire making, all the stuff you'll need to survive in RuneScape will be taught to you right on this very island.

"Now, I'm about to give you a few things you can't live without in RuneScape." The RuneScape guide then handed me a large bag. "That bag can carry much more then you think it can carry. Another thing you'll need would be this." He then showed me the olive-green book. "That book is magical. It changes all the time. The pages in it include your friends list and your ignore list, which are lists of people you like, and don't like. If you like someone, and put him or her on your friends list, it will display their names, and allows you to chat with them privately. If the person is on you ignore list, they cannot communicate with you at all. Also, there is a list of what is in your bag, and what is in your bank (you'll find out about the bank later on the island). It has a list of what you are wearing, and your combat level, the most important level of all your levels. Another thing would be your stat list. It is a list of your different stats at that moment. Stats are like different levels, for example, my fishing level is 34, or my crafting level is 26. If you look at the page regularly, it may make more sense to you. The rest of pages are blank, ready for you to fill in. Remember, when you die, it'll be the only thing that you keep, apart from 3 items, and your bag." He handed me the book. I put it in a small pouch in the front of the bag.

"Now, go out that door, and follow the path to your next guide. She will teach you how to survive out in the world of RuneScape. Good luck, traveller." He gave me a hearty pat on the back, and went off to start talking to another person. I sighed, feeling a lot better. I knew now that I was in a place called RuneScape. All the information I needed had been given to me. I went out the house. I looked around, and marvelled at the beauty of it all. There was the grass, waving in the wind, the butterflies, flying past me, and the ocean nearby, moving in rhythm to the wind. The sun shone like a beacon of hope to everybody. I happily followed the path, ready for what lay at the other end.

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_I hope you enjoyed that chapter! I am reuploading chapters (correcting mistakes, adding author notes, etc), one by one, so that is why some of the earlier chapters have author notes while some may not. The ones that don't have author notes usually are in the state that they were originally written in (AKA written years ago by me) so keep that in mind.  
_

_Next chapter: trees, fires, fish, oh my!_

_Until next time, toodles!_


	2. Chapter 2: The Basics of Survival

_Hello, hello, hello, what's happenin' readers?_

_Welcome to the second chapter! This is a re-uplaoded version, with spotted mistakes corrected, things added and removed, etc. I've also added some author notes. I'll be doing this with all of the other chapters; whenever I write a new chapter, I correct and re-upload an older chapter. Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Jagex, RuneScape, or any of the RuneScape characters. All I own is the plot of this fanfiction and some of the characters in the story. I am not making a financial profit from this story._

* * *

**Chapter 2: The Basics of Survival**

I walked down the cobbled stone path, and saw a clearing in the woods at the end of the path. I was feeling apprehensive as to what might happen up ahead. I walked into the clearing, and saw a lake, surrounded by trees. There were quite a few people there in total. Some of them were cutting down trees swiftly with axes, while some of them were setting the logs on fire. Others were by a lake, fishing.

Then I saw a woman. She was wearing a brown cloak, and a hood covered most of her facial features. She was wielding an axe. She had a large backpack on her back, like the RuneScape guide. Her cape stood out vividly compared to her gloomy cloak. It was a bright, dazzling red, and waved magnificently in the light breeze. She saw me, smiled, and walked towards me.

"Hello there, and what might your name be?" she asked me kindly.

"I am Mainiac97," I replied, smiling.

"Well, my name is Brianna, and I am the survival tutor. I am here to teach new people how to survive in the big, wide world. I have been doing it for most of my life, travelling through thick forests, boiling deserts and even the dreaded wilderness," she said. The wilderness, whatever this was, seemed to bring a shiver to her spine. I looked at her, nonplussed, as to why she would be shuddering at the name of the wilderness. I heard the RuneScape guide mention the wilderness, even though I didn't have a clue what it meant. I didn't push it though.

"Well, first of all, you have got to learn how to cut down trees," she said, pointing at a nearby tree. "To do that, you will need an axe." She then bent over, rummaged in her bag, and then handed me a bronze woodcutting axe from the bag. "Now, go and practice. When you come back, I expect at least three sets of logs." She pushed me towards a tree. A boy had just cut that tree down, but it had grown back amazingly fast. I looked at it, flabbergasted. I decided to stop staring, and to get on with my work. I stepped towards the tree, and gave it a mighty strike with my axe.

A large mark went into the tree, but it was nowhere near falling over. So, I hit it again, and the mark in the tree widened. I hit a few more times, and the mark had almost grown enough to cut the tree down. I mustered all my strength, and hit the tree one more time. This was enough, and the tree toppled over with a crash that echoed around the clearing. I chopped the tree up into three logs. I did the same with two more trees, and then put them in my bag. For some reason, they fit easily in my bag. I decided to cut down another tree. After several attempts to cut it down, it finally toppled over. Then, something amazing happened. Small fireworks flew around me, illuminating me with light. I felt a vibration in my bag. I found the source to be the small olive-green book, and it magically opened up to the stat page. The woodcutting stat was glowing. I read it, and instead of reading 1, it read 2. It then suddenly stopped glowing, and the fireworks ended. I went up to Brianna, handed her my logs, and asked for an explanation. She chuckled softly.

"You're a natural at woodcutting, I was watching you from here!" she exclaimed. I glowed with pride. She smiled kindly at me. "As for the fireworks and glowing, that is because you've just raised a woodcutting level. I figure it is a good way of alerting us when our level rises.

"Now, you've learnt how to cut wood; it's now time for you to learn how to light a fire. Cut down another tree, and come to me when you're done," she commanded. I gladly cut down another tree. I found it easier this time; I guessed it was because I just raised a level. I went back to her with a set of logs. She rummaged in her bag, and pulled out a small, grey box. The inside had small, sharp razors with flint at the end. "Now, lighting a fire is harder then cutting down trees, I think. Let me show you."

She went up to a tree, but it looked different. It was larger, broader, shinier, and looked harder to cut. There was a similar tree standing next to it. She chopped down the tree with one blow. She must be a natural. Level 99, I guessed. I went to the big tree next to her, and tried to cut it. But, for some strange reason, I couldn't even mark it. She laughed at me. "You're only level 2 at woodcutting. You can't cut down that tree just yet!" she pointed out, laughing kindly.

"Why can't I?" I asked, a bit disappointed.

"That's because that is an oak tree! You need a level 15 woodcutting to cut down one of those! Look, hand me your little book, I want to show you something," she said. I handed over my book, feeling like I could trust Brianna by now. She held the book up against the tree, and it suddenly flipped open to a random page. The page included loads of information, including what level you need to be to cut down oak trees, where you can find them, how hard it would be to cut it down and set it on fire…it was all there! She gave it back.

She got the grey box, and scratched it against the oak logs, sending sparks flying everywhere. Finally, she stood back, and the logs caught fire. A roaring fire stood in front of them. She then handed me the box.

"Now, that is called a tinderbox, and it can be bought commonly at shops. You saw me use it, now try and cut down a tree and set the logs on fire," she told me. I nodded, and ran off to cut down a tree.

The tree came down in about three blows; my new record! I tried the tinderbox with the logs, and I easily created a fire. I ran off to Brianna for further instructions. By then she was looking at me, amazed.

"You are off to a very good start in survival, Mainiac97!" She exclaimed. "Now, there is one more thing you need to learn here, and it just may be harder then anything else you learnt, even harder then woodcutting, or fire making. You, my friend, are going to learn how to fish." She was looking at me pretty seriously. She rummaged in her bag, and fished out a net (no pun intended), and handed it to me.

"That is basic starter fishing net, and the best you can catch with that would be shrimps and anchovies. You need level 15 in fishing before trying to catch anchovies, so that will come later on. Now, you seem very good at survival, so I am going to give you a challenge. Try and catch as much fish as possible, and cook them over a fire." I looked up at her nervously. I found that cutting down trees and setting the logs on fire were easier then I expected them to be, but fishing, that sounded quite difficult. I listened to her, hoping for an explanation on fishing. She looked at my face, and laughed.

"You see those sparkling areas by the lake? If you put your net in there, then there is a chance you will catch fish," she explained. I decided to try it. "Besides, you need food in your stomach." Just then, I noticed that my stomach was rumbling, and I felt really hungry. So, I went towards a sparkling spot that was unoccupied while Brianna went towards a young boy who was having trouble setting the logs on fire. I stood in front of the fishing spot, and plunged my net into the water. I gently put it in, and pulled it out slowly. There weren't any fish in the net. I groaned, and put the net in again, and pulled it out. No sign of fish. I repeated this process again a few more times, and, finally, I saw little weird fish that looked orange.

I took out my little green book, and held it up to the little fish, hoping it would tell me about the fish. It flipped open to a page, and gave me all the info I needed to know. The little fish were called shrimp, and they were the most common fish in all of RuneScape. You could catch them with a small fishing net, with level 1 in fishing. I realised how easy it might be when you were a mighty warrior to catch shrimp. I put the raw little shrimp in my bag, and carried on fishing.

A few minutes later, I saw small fireworks setting off around me, and saw in my book that I had risen to level 2 in fishing. About 25 minutes later, I had filled my surprisingly large bag with raw shrimp. I went up to a nearby tree, pulled out my axe, and chopped the tree down in four hits. Using my tinderbox, I set the logs on fire, and nervously pulled out all my shrimp. I went up to Brianna to ask for help.

"Here is a stick to put the shrimp on, so you don't have to burn your hands while cooking," she answered simply, handing me a small, sharp stick. I poked on a few raw shrimp, and put them in the fire. I waited for a few minutes, and then pulled out the stick. Three shrimp were a lovely crisp golden colour, while the other two were black and disgusting. I grimaced, and dropped the burnt ones on the floor. I got some other raw shrimp, put them on my stick, and put them on the fire. Then, suddenly, more fireworks set off around me, and I saw that I had risen to level 2 in cooking. I was feeling a bit surprised, and as the wonderful smell of cooking fish filled the air, I felt my stomach rumble twice as hard.

Once all my shrimp were all cooked (and a few burnt) I went up to Brianna, feeling proud of myself. I showed her the cooked shrimp I had made myself.

"I must say, you seemed to have picked this up very quickly," she commented. "You have now learnt everything you can from me. Now, tuck in to your delicious lunch of cooked shrimp!"

I happily ate my juicy, delicious shrimp. It tasted lovely, crispy, tender, and delicious… absolutely fit for a queen. Once I finished my food, I went to Brianna for further instructions.

"You have learnt everything you can about survival from me," she told me. "So I will reward you. You may keep your axe, tinderbox, and fishing net. You really expect to walk around RuneScape in those horrible shoes! Look, take these, as a reward for doing very well in my session." She handed me some thick leather boots. I took off my old ones, and put on the boots. They felt nice on my feet. I threw my shoes onto the floor, where they broke apart, and ripped. Then Brianna gave me some experience in woodcutting, fire making, cooking, and fishing. Then, small fireworks popped up around me, and I rose to fire making level 2. I smiled happily at her. She smiled back.

"Well, Mainiac97, I will miss you dearly," she said, sighing. "Follow that path over there and go down. You should arrive at my friend, Lev's house. Farewell."

I followed the stone path she pointed at, and I realised I was on top of a very small hill. I sadly walked down, thinking about what I would learn about when I reached this Lev.

* * *

_I hope you liked that. As I said above, this is a corrected version_. _There still may be some mistakes there. If you see anything extra, please tell me._

_Next time: flour, windmills and stoves; a good omen for any rumbling stomachs out there._

_Until next time, toodles!  
_


	3. Chapter 3: The Art of Cookery

_Hello, hello, hello, what's happenin' readers?_

_This is the re-uploaded version of chapter 3 which was re-uplaoded at the same time of the uploading of chapter 76. I've tried my best to remove mistakes, add things and get rid of things as I see fit. I hope you enjoy it!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Jagex, RuneScape, or any of the RuneScape characters. All I own is the plot of this fanfiction and some of the characters in the story. I am not making a financial profit from this story._

* * *

_**Chapter 3: The Art of Cookery**_

I walked down the stone path, surveying my surroundings. The sun was beginning to set. I realised I must have spent at least an hour with Brianna, learning how to survive in the outdoors. I wondered curiously what Lev was going to teach me. I carried on for about ten minutes, mulling the entire situation over in my head.

Then, finally, I arrived at a small stone windmill. The breeze was spinning the windmill around. Outside was a field full of grain. I very curiously opened the door, and a wonderful smell hit my nose. It was a smell of food, and pie, and more food; it smelt wonderful. I sniffed, and tiptoed cautiously inside.

The room I'd just walked into was a kitchen. There were two tables. One table had a bucket, a pot, a knife, and a large cabbage on it. The other table had a chocolate bar, and a pie dish on it. There was a large bowl on the sink, and there were two large stoves by the door. The most surprising thing in this room, however, was a large flour bin on the other end of the room, with a large pipe leading up from the bin to the upper floors. There was also a wooden ladder on the other end of the room, letting people climb up to the other floors through a trapdoor. There weren't many people inside the kitchen. There was a man washing his hands in the sink, and another one sitting down by a table chopping up a banana.

Another person was cooking something on the range. This man wore a large chef's hat on his head, covering his hair. He had a small black beard. He wore a white apron over a white shirt, and he wore a large dazzling white cape. Like the other guides, he had a large rucksack on his back. He wore a chequered pair of trousers, and big brown boots. I decided he was the owner of the kitchen, and decided to ask him about the whereabouts of Lev. I went up to him nervously.

"Excuse me, but do you know where someone called Lev might be? Brianna back on the survival ground told me to go to him next," I explained.

"Well, it just so happens that I am the master chef, Lev," the man laughed in a booming jolly voice.

"Hello, I am Mainiac97," I replied nervously.

"I am here to teach new people how to cook," he explained.

"But I already know how to cook! Brianna taught me how!" I yelled, not wanting to learn something I already knew.

"Pfft! Some shrimp over an open log fire! I hardly call that cooking! No, I am going to teach you the art of proper cookery," Lev scoffed.

"Let us start with baking bread. Pick up that bucket and that pot," he ordered. I quickly picked up the pot and the bucket.

"Right, fill the bucket with water, put the lid on and keep it in your bag," Lev told me. I obliged. "Now it is time to fill that pot with flour," he said. "Go outside and pick as much grain as possible. Then, take it upstairs, and put it in the hopper (it looks like a large pot). Pull the lever. The grain will go down the pipe, and it will get crushed in the mechanism. Finally, it will come out as flour in that flour bin. After you've done that, come back down, and fill the pot with flour, then come to me for further instructions." I nodded eagerly.

I went outside, and looked up at the top of the hill. I saw someone beginning to walk down the path. I could just barely see people cutting down trees, and I thought I saw Brianna setting some logs on fire. I sighed, and went to the grain field. I picked as much grain as I possibly could.

I went back into the kitchen, and climbed up the ladder. On the second floor, there was barely anything. There were a lot of gears and pipes. I could see a sink, and a jug standing on a table. I climbed up the next ladder, and I appeared on the top floor. I could see a large pot-like thing that had a lever next to it on the wall. There was a nearby table with cooking ingredients on it: a cooking apple, some grapes, red berries, and a few bananas. I grabbed a banana, and hurriedly stuffed it in my bag. After a minute though, the banana appeared again! This didn't shock me as much as it should have. I was getting used to things reappearing the moment they disappeared.

I put all the grain in the hopper, and I pulled the lever. There was a loud clunk, then a grinding sound. I climbed back down to the bottom floor, and saw a large mount of flour in the flour bin. I filled the pot with flour, and went towards Lev for further instructions.

"Ah, you have finished. Now, get the water and flour, and mix them together," Lev instructed. I emptied the water and flour in a bowl, and mixed the dough together. I took it out, and at Lev's command, shaped it into the shape of a loaf of bread. Then, I put the dough on a range, and waited for it to cook. I waited for the bread to cook for about fifteen minutes, and then I pulled it out. It smelled delicious. It was a crispy, golden brown, and looked delicious. My stomach rumbled, and Lev laughed.

"You look starved! You need to eat more then a few shrimp everyday! How about I give you some raw meat, and you put the meat in the bread to make a sandwich?" Lev handed me some red meat. I put the meat on the range. When I took it off, it was a mouth-watering brown colour. At that moment small fireworks appeared around me, and I looked at my book, and I was informed that I had risen to cooking level 3. I put the meat in the bread, and made a wonderful meat sandwich. I ate it all very quickly. Lev chortled merrily.

"You've learnt everything you need, but there is much more you can learn. For example, you can cook cake, pie, pizza, and much more, but you need a higher cooking level to cook them. I'll reward you for doing well today. Here is a cooking recipe book, a chef's hat, and some extra cooking experience." Lev handed me a small brown book with a picture of a lovely cooked pie and my cooking level on the front cover, and a silly white chef's hat. Then, suddenly, more fireworks set off around me, and as I looked in my olive-green book, I was told that I was level 5 in cooking! And, below that, it said that I could now cook a fish called herring. I gasped in happiness and excitement. I put the hat in my bag, and put the book in with my green book in a pouch.

"Now, follow that path and you will meet the quest master, who will teach you about the different quests, and the rewards. Then, after that, you will go down to the deep depths of tutorial dungeon, where you will learn the art of mining, smithing and combat. Now, off you go, Mainiac97," Lev told me. I happily went on the cobbled stone path, ready for what waited on the end of the path. I'd already done survival and cooking, and I was ready for questing.

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_While great care has been taken when correcting the mistakes in this chapter, some may remain. If you spot anything please let me know._

_Next chapter: "Well, let's face it, everyone has problems. That is mainly what a quest is. Lots of people will need chores done for them, and you will be the perfect person to help them."_

_Until next time, toodles!  
_


	4. Chapter 4: The Quest Master

_Hello, hello, hello, what's happenin' readers?_

_Here is the edited version of chapter 4. Although I've tried my best to remove mistakes, some may remain. If you spot anything I missed please tell me so._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Jagex, RuneScape, or any of the RuneScape characters. All I own is the plot of this fanfiction and some of the characters in the story. I am not making a financial profit from this story._

* * *

**Chapter 4: The Quest Master**

The sun was setting, and the sky was a roaring orange and pink colour, with a dash of black. I looked up at the sunset and thought about the beauty of the world around me.

I was walking down the stone path that led to the quest master's house, determined that I would finish Tutorial Island successfully. I carried on until I reached a small house made of stone bricks, a bit bigger than the RuneScape guide's house, but a bit smaller than Lev's house. I knocked on the door, and a loud "Hello, who's there?" sounded through the house. I opened the door nervously. I was in a large room. It was the quest master's living room, I guessed.

The room was large; with polished wooden floorboards that were so shiny I could see my face in them, it was definitely a grand house. There was a rug that looked like it was made out of bear fur in front of a roaring fireplace. There were clay ornaments on the wooden shelves, some were shaped like the quest master himself, some were shaped like some of the monsters he had killed (for example, large horned demons, black unicorns made out of special black clay, and a few others that I didn't know what they were). There was a large sofa in front of the rug, and there was a door leading into what I thought was a kitchen. There were two ladders in the room. One led upstairs, and one led into a very dark-looking cellar. A man in the corner of the room coughed. I yelped with fright, and turned to run out of the house. I decided against it after a moment's consideration.

He had a messy black mop of hair, and wore dashing red clothes with yellow stripes. And, just like the other guides, he wore a yellow cape, and had a large backpack on his back. He was reading a book labelled 'The amazing life of Zezima', when he looked up and saw me.

"Hi, I am the quest master, and you must be Mainiac97!" the quest master said cheerfully. I looked up at his grandfather clock on the wall, and gasped. It was half past eight in the night! The quest master must have seen me looking at the clock, because then he offered to let me stay in his house. He decided he would give me the basics of quests in the morning. I went upstairs, and the quest master had prepared a bed for me. I was so tired the moment my head hit the pillow I fell straight asleep.

When I woke up a wave of sunshine hit me from the open window. I sighed, sat up, and rubbed my eyes. I felt a small breeze and the sound of the birds singing. Then I remembered what happened yesterday, and stood up excitedly. I practically ran downstairs, where the quest master was waiting. He smiled at me, and handed me a loaf of bread with a wedge of cooked meat inside, and my bag.

"Well good morning sunshine, I made you breakfast," he said to me kindly. I ate the meat sandwich, and sat down to listen to him explain about quests.

"Well, let's face it, everyone has problems. That is mainly what a quest is. Lots of people will need chores done for them, and you will be the perfect person to help them. It might involve killing something. It might involve getting a particular item for someone. It might involve delivering something to someone. It might be possibly anything.

"Another thing about quests, sometimes you will have to do something to do something else. Some quests are completely consisted of wild goose chases.

"Sometimes it might be very difficult to do the quest, but it might be worth it too. You will get a reward every time you do a quest for someone, for example, money, or gems, or permission to do something, or experience on a particular stat, and you will always get an amount of quest points for what you will do. Quest points are points you earn for doing different quests, and the more points you get, the more rewards you will earn. I will start you off with one quest point, and I am entitled to give each and every new player this." The quest master handed me a thick leather-bound book, with the picture of a large blue gem on the front, which I found out was the mark of a quest. And also on the front, in orange leather words, it said 'quest journal' and underneath that it said my amount of quest points, which was 1 at the moment.

"Thank you," I said gratefully. He smiled back at me.

"Right, you've learnt the basics of questing, so go on down to tutorial dungeon. And don't worry," he said, looking at my panic-stricken face, "It is nothing. There are no monsters in it, except for the rat pit that will be needed to learn about combat, even though it looks dark and dangerous. Trust me, I have been to the depths of the wilderness and back again, I would know the meaning of danger." I looked at him blankly, wondering still what this wilderness thing was. I began to panic. The quest master told me it was safe, but I still wasn't convinced. I decided to get over my fear, and to enter the dark, dismal dungeon, wondering about what kinds of horrors might be lurking in there.

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_I hope you liked that! This chapter gets the record of 'shortest chapter yet'!_

_This chapter was re-uploaded at the same time of the uploading of chapter 77._

_I do not own Zezima, never have, never will. If you happen to be reading this, Zezima, sorry man, I'll remove your name if you wish.  
_

_Next time: "People were crowding around the rocks, banging pickaxes against them."_

_Until next time, toodles!  
_


	5. Chapter 5: Mining Ores, Smithing Dagger

_Hello, hello, hello, what's happenin' readers?_

_This edited version of chapter 5 was reuploaded when chapter 78 was uploaded._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Jagex, RuneScape, or any of the RuneScape characters. All I own is the plot of this fanfiction and some of the characters in the story. I am not making a financial profit from this story._

_Enjoy!  
_

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**Chapter 5: Mining ores and Smithing Daggers**

I climbed down the ladder. A sudden gust of cold air came out from the cave. I shivered, the hairs on the back of my head standing on end. The ladder was very long, and it was getting darker, damper and colder with every step. I went down, down, down, down, into deep blackness, until I hit the ground. The moment I touched the ground, large flame lamps went on in the dungeon, and I could see clearly I was in a kind of cavern.

I shivered miserably again, not liking the looks of the place. Ahead of me, I saw a dark, damp tunnel, and I reluctantly decided to follow that tunnel, since it seemed like the only way forward. I walked along, my footsteps echoing off the damp walls of the dungeon, and finally, after what felt like hours of walking, I finally arrived at an opening.

There was a large opening in the cave filled with different rocks in it. But these looked like different rocks. There were streaks of silver in some of the rocks on the right, and orange streaks in the rocks on the left. People were crowding around the rocks, banging pickaxes against them. On the far end of the cave was a large, boiling hot furnace, like a portal into hell. I eyed the tumbling, white-hot coals in the furnace nervously. People were putting different things in, and they came out like a large pile of red-hot goopy melted metal, which were then put into bar moulds. Near the furnace were two anvils, where people were banging hammers against the anvil, with bars in the middle. I saw a tall, thin, bony man with a dirty brown shirt and trousers, a big filth-colour cloak and an enormous rucksack on his back. He spotted me and went towards me, smiling slyly at me.

"Why hello there youngster, I am the mining and smithing tutor on this island, and I am here to teach you the basics of mining and the basics of using a furnace and an anvil. And by the way, my name is Deezick, but I prefer to be called the mining instructor," He said gruffly to me.

"Well, first of all, you mine some ore from different rocks. The rocks can be found all over the world. There are tin and copper, iron, coal, silver, gold, mithril and adamantine, and runite, and even different gems. Scattered all throughout RuneScape, you can find all of these rocks and ores.

"Well, then, what can you do with this ore? Well, you'll need to put it into the form of a bar before you can do anything else with it! That is what a furnace is for. Just insert the ore in the furnace (taking care not to burn your hands) and then when you've melted some of it together, use the fireproof ladle provided to scoop it out and to place it into a bar mould. Then, once it is cooled down, take it out and there, you have a bar of whatever metal you used!

"Sometimes you can use just one ore on its own to make a bar (for example, gold). But, other times, you will need more then one ore to make a bar of some kind of metal (for example, you need six coals and one adamantine to make an adamant bar). But, once it is in bar form what can you do with it?

"There are a few options here to do with bars. One option is to turn the bar into a weapon! Use a hammer with the anvils provided, and you can bang it into whatever shape you want to! But, some metals are harder to turn into weapons, so you'll need higher smithing level to turn some metals into some weapons. And it also depends on the amount of bars you have got. For example, let's say I want a bronze plate body. I can't make a large bronze plate body with just one bar of bronze, can't I? So, the solution to that would be to use more then one bar of bronze, and smash it all together! Another thing you can do with the bar of bronze would be to sell it for a profit. Some metals are really valuable, and can be sold to shops or the grand exchange for very high prices.

"Well, we'd better get you started in mining then," he finished, and fished something out of his bag. He pulled out a bronze pickaxe, and handed it to me. "Now, first you've got to learn what kind of ore is inside the rock before you mine it, so that little green book the RuneScape starter guide gave you would come in handy for that. Once you know what are inside the rocks, come to me, and I will tell you what to do after that."

I nodded, and ran off towards the silver-streaked rock. I held up my green book against it, and it flipped open to a page, which told me that there was tin inside the rock, and I could mine this at level 1 mining, and if I put this inside a furnace with copper ore, I would make bronze. So then, I went to the orange rocks, which turned out to be copper. I went up to the mining and smithing tutor, expecting more instructions. He nodded curtly at me, and told me to start mining. I did so. I got my pickaxe, and hit a copper rock with all my might with it. I chipped away some rock, but I was nowhere near getting some ore.

I hit it again, and again, chipping away a lot of rock, then, finally, some small orange stones fell out. I sighed with happiness and tiredness. My forehead was shining with sweat, and I was doubled up, wheezing. My plain blue clothes were covered with dirt and grime.

I put the copper ore in my bag, and headed towards a tin rock. I basically did just the same, until some in ore fell out of the rock. I went towards the mining instructor, seeking further instructions.

"Well done, young lad. That sure was impressive! OK, go towards the furnace and carefully put the two ores inside, then use that iron ladle provided to take out the melted bronze, then put it in the bar mould until it hardens into a bronze bar," he told me excitedly. I did as he told. I inserted the ores into the scorching hot furnace nervously and carefully, and took a ladle from the rack of ladles on the wall. Then, I put in the ladle, and scooped out some shiny brown, red hot melted metal. I went to the bar mould, and put the melted bronze stuff in the mould.

I waited about 10 minutes to make sure it really was cool and hard, and then took out my very first bronze bar. I went to the mining instructor excitedly, and showed him my bar. He nodded, and fished out a large, heavy hammer from his bag, and he handed it to me. He explained to me that all I could make out of bronze at my level were daggers and axes.

I went towards an unoccupied anvil, and placed the bar on it. I then mustered all my strength, and hit the bar several times, shaping it into the shape of a dagger. I don't know how, but it felt strangely like it was turning into a dagger by itself. I carried on hitting until I had a strong bronze dagger. I looked proudly at my weapon. Then, small fireworks popped up around me, and I realised that I was now smithing level 2. I went towards the mining instructor, exhausted but happy. He smiled at me.

"Right, you know the basics of mining and smithing, so I will give you a few rewards for doing well here. I will give you the pickaxe and hammer, and I'll also give you 100 mining experience and 100 smithing experience," he told me. Then, suddenly, more small fireworks flew around me, illuminating me with light, and I realised I had raised a mining level to 2. I jumped for joy.

"Next my old friend Vannaka will teach you about combat, and then you will follow a tunnel to a ladder to resurface to the island. I'm not too sure, but I think after a few more tutors, you will have finished your time on Tutorial Island. Now, go down that tunnel to your next tutor," he said.

I shook his bony hand, and set off to learn the ways of killing and combat. Now, this was one tutor I was feeling uncomfortable about. I didn't like the sound of killing stuff. I thought of all the horrible things that could happen in the world because of killing. But, it must be a key part of life in RuneScape, and something that probably must be learnt to stay alive in the dangerous and treacherous world out there.

I was getting curious about this mysterious wilderness everyone was talking about. I'd probably find out more about the wilderness when I got off Tutorial Island. I began to go down the tunnel that led to Vannaka, but then before I set off anywhere I just realised how tired I was. I had to have a rest somewhere. I saw a nearby boulder, and sat on it, exhausted.

I wiped off some of the dirt off my clothes, and tried to clean my grubby cheeks, that had turned from a rosy colour to a brown dirt-like texture. The mining instructor saw me, and then walked up to me. He handed me a damp cloth from his bag, and told me that I should clean and keep dampening the cloth in fountains.

I gave my face, hands and my clothes a quick clean with the cloth, then I put it in my bag. I sat back on the boulder, and wondered how hard life would get when I was off Tutorial Island. After having a good long rest, I sat up and set off to learn combat with Vannaka.

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_I hope you enjoyed that!_

_I've tried my best to remove mistakes/typos, but some still may remain. If you spot a typo please inform me and I'll remove it._

_Next time: What's worse than meeting an unpleasant person? Meeting two, of course._

_Until next time, toodles!  
_


	6. Chapter 6: The Sword and the Short Bow

_Hello, hello, hello, what's happenin' readers?_

_This chapter was edited and re-uploaded at the time chapter 79 was uploaded._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Jagex, RuneScape, or any of the RuneScape characters. All I own is the plot of this fanfiction and some of the characters in the story. I am not making a financial profit from this story._

_Enjoy!  
_

* * *

**Chapter 6: The Sword and the Short Bow**

I walked through the dark, dismal tunnel that the mining and smithing tutor had indicated me to go down. A drop of some kind of green fungus fell on my head with a small plop. I shivered miserably. I wanted to get to the light badly because this cavernous darkness made me feel nervous. Before I could do that, however, I had to go and learn about combat, which basically was learning about how to kill stuff. But then, I thought, killing was probably a crucial skill to learn, if it was being taught on Tutorial Island.

After what felt like hours of walking, I reached an opening in the cave. I stopped, panting, with large blisters on my feet, squinting in the darkness for some sign of life. Large torches lit up, illuminating the cave so I could see where I was.

I was in a tunnel that opened up into a pit. even worse, it was a pit full of rats. It was a pit full of enormous rats. They were gigantic, colossal, hairy, smelly, noisy rats. Then I saw a gruesome sight. People were in the rat pit, and were slaughtering the rats. Blood was lying on the ground in pools, along with a few dead rats, and the killers were picking up their winnings: a hunk of rat meat, and some bones. I shivered again disgustedly, and climbed down the ladder, into a safe spot.

There was a gate barring us from the rats here. There were quite a few people here. There were people behind the gates, shooting arrows at the rats from afar. The rats were squealing, and were trying to escape from the arrows, but most of them hit their target, injuring the rats and causing more blood to spill all over the rocks. My face was turning green with all this killing and blood. But there was one man behind the gates that really caught my attention.

This man was enormous, and looked just too big to be allowed. His biceps were the size of boulders, and it didn't look like he needed the rune scimitar and rune kite shield he had on his belt. He could just grab enemies by the neck and choke them to death. He wore a large rune plate body, rune plate legs, and a rune medium helmet. He had a magic longbow on his back, with what looked like hundreds of weird blue arrows. Like all the other guides, he had a striking dark blue cape, with a large rucksack. I came to the decision that he was the combat tutor, and I needed to talk to him to pass, even though he was so intimidating I just wanted to cower against the wall. But, I forced myself to stand up straight, and to walk up towards him and talk to him. As if by magic, I knew instantly that he was a level 140.

"Excuse me, but are you Vannaka?" I asked as bravely as I could, fighting the temptation to run and hide.

"Yes I am, and I don't care about your name. To me, you are just another noob who thinks they are ready to fight," he snarled back at me. I almost burst out crying because of his rudeness. But, again, I forced myself to stand up straight and to look him in the eye. I stared in his blood-red angry eyes, and I felt all my determination ebbing away, as though his stare alone sucked the bravery out of me.

"But I'm supposed to fight, aren't I? I mean, this is a part of the island, isn't it?" I asked timidly, sniffing, blinking tears out of my eyes, surprised I had enough confidence to talk to him any more. He glowered at me, and I felt like going to hide again.

"Yes, I guess so," he said grudgingly. Here, take these and get into the pit. Go and try them out." He handed me a simple bronze sword and a wooden shield. "There are a few skills that you could raise while killing: attack, defence, strength, hit points (that is the amount of points left you can have while you are being attacked, yours now is 10), ranging (only raised when using a bow and arrow), and magic (you'll learn more about magic later)," he explained. "Now, just get in the pit and try them out!" I yelped with fright, and rushed into the rat pit.

I felt like being sick. The people here were showing no mercy at all towards the poor rats, and were killing them heartlessly. But, for some reason, the rats kept reappearing after dying. I didn't spare this a second thought, though, as I stepped into the heart of the pit. I eyed a nearby rat nervously, but it got there first.

It looked at me coldly with its large yellow eyes, and then stepped towards me. I stepped back. Then, suddenly, the rat squeaked loudly, and pounced. I screamed, and ran for it. I could hear Vannaka laughing past the gate. I realised the only thing to do now would be to kill the rat, so I stepped towards it, and wielded my sword, and held it above the rat's head. Vannaka stopped laughing. I grimaced, and swung it at the rat's head. I heard a squelch, a squeak of pain, and a gasp from Vannaka. I looked at the rat, and saw blood flooding all over the floor. The rat's head lay on the floor, with its body lying nearby.

I saw some bones and raw rat meat on the floor. I picked up the both, and put them in my bag. I just stood, flabbergasted, at the rat I had just slaughtered. I ran towards another rat, and this time stabbed it in the chest with my sword. It squeaked, partly because of pain, partly because of anger, and lunged at me with its large claws. I thought fast, and blocked its attack with my shield. I hit it again violently, making it squeak again. It slashed at me angrily, and this time I wasn't quick enough to protect myself from its vicious claws, and it hit me hard on my arm.

The cut began to bleed profusely. The pain felt terrible, but I forced myself to numb out the pain, because the rat was once again attempting to slash me again. I protected myself with my wooden shield again, and hit the rat another time with my sword. The rat tried to attack me again, only managing to cut me slightly on my hand. I stabbed it once more, this time through its neck, and it fell on the floor, dead.

I felt even braver then when I first entered the pit. I stepped towards another rat, and killed it with a few slashes. But this one scratched me on my stomach, and it hurt. I killed another few rats, until I had five sets of raw rat meat and five sets of bones. Then, fireworks set off around me. I looked in my green book, and I saw that I had raised to strength level 2, then suddenly, even more fireworks set off around me, and I checked in my book, and found out I had raised to hit points level 11. My hit points were 4 after fighting the rats. I stepped back behind the gate proudly. Vannaka was gawping at me by now. He shook his head though and mumbled a 'brilliant' at me with much difficulty.

"That was much better then I expected it to be, youngster. Well, we'll see how skilled you are with a short bow!" he told me triumphantly, regaining his pompous, rude, old self. He handed me a wooden small bow. I looked at it curiously, having no idea whatsoever what I was supposed to do with it. Vannaka sighed, and got out his own magic longbow, and took out a blue arrow.

He inserted the arrow on the back of the string, held the string back, and let go. The arrow went flying high in the sky, like some kind of pointy blue rocket. It landed with a sickening squelch, and when I looked closely, I saw that the arrow had gone through a rat's neck. The rat squealed noisily, and slumped on the floor, dark-red blood streaming all over the already blood-stained floor. I nervously got my bow into a similar position, when I realised I had no arrows. Vannaka laughed, and took out about 50 slender bronze arrows, and handed them to me.

"Those arrows are very brittle, so be careful with them. If you break any, I'm not going to replace them," he snapped. I looked nervously at my short bow and arrows. I put an arrow on the thin rope, pulled the rope back, and let go of the string and the arrow.

The arrow went sailing through the air. It went down, and instead of hitting a rat, it hit a level 3 boy wielding a wooden shield and a bronze sword, like me, in the side. He shouted with pain and anger, pulled the arrow out of his side, and marched angrily towards the gate. Vannaka stopped to watch. The boy opened the gate, and stormed towards me.

"What the HELL are you playing at, shooting an arrow at me? Was that supposed to be a joke?" he bellowed in my face, spraying spit everywhere. I stuttered helplessly. He glared at me, and then continued, "If it was a joke, it wasn't a very funny one. I lost five hit points because of that!"

He brandished his bronze sword, and stepped towards me. He slashed the sword in my direction, but it hit my wooden shield instead. I decided it was time for self defence, so I slashed my sword in his direction. It hit his wooden shield. I saw his face turn puce, like a radish with hair, eyes, a nose and a large mouth. He swiped his sword in my direction furiously, and this time it hit my upper chest. I yelled in pain, and fell back, dropping my shield by accident. He smiled, not like the warm smile Brianna gave me, but an evil smile, full of malice and hatred.

He stabbed at me again, and the sword went right through my flesh in the side. My vision went foggy, and my blood poured all over the floor. He smiled evilly again, and got his sword at the ready. But, that smile made me feel something I had never felt before: anger. Not angry, such as waiting impatiently to talk to the RuneScape guide.

I felt adrenaline pulse through my body. Despite the pain in my side, I got up, and picked up my shield. He laughed. "You've just been stabbed right through your side. You have no chance against me," he taunted.

He swung his sword at me, and I swung mine at him. Our swords came into contact, and we pushed. I could see beads of sweat going down his forehead. I pushed with all my might, and finally he dropped his sword, which fell on the floor with a clatter. It bent, and I took it, and threw it like a javelin into the rat pit. He let out a frightened shout, and held up his wooden shield, hoping to protect himself. I swung my sword with all my might at his shield, and they collided with a loud CRASH.

His shield cracked, and fell in half. The two pieces fell on the floor, just useless pieces of wood now. The boy stepped back, and tried to run away. But, with quick thinking, I aimed an arrow at him, and shot. The arrow hit him narrowly in the stomach. He fell over, shouted with pain, and I stepped over to him. With my sword clutched angrily in my hand, I went up to him, and chopped off his head cleanly. His head flew through the air, before hitting the wall with a sickening crunch.

Right now, everyone was looking at me with shock. Even I was shocked at what I just did. But then, small fireworks popped up around me, indicating I had risen to level attack 2. I thought that killing people like this must be very common in RuneScape.

Vannaka went up to me. "You hardly practiced ranged combat today, but, nevertheless, the skill you showed while killing that person was absolutely fantastic. I feel like you have earned some rewards. I'll reward you with 50 strength experience, 50 attack experience, 50 ranged experience, 50 defence experience, and 50 hit point experience, but there is much more you have earned," he told me. At once, fireworks set off around me, telling me I had raised a defence level to two, and to range level two.

"Your second rewards are a bow holder and arrow holder, and another 50 bronze arrows," he said, and handed me a long leather tube-like thing to keep my bow and arrows in. I slung it on my back, put my bow and 98 bronze arrows in, and carried on listening to him.

"Your third reward is this exclusive bronze medium helmet," he said, and handed me a tough-looking bronze helmet. I put it on, and made me look like a mighty warrior. I smiled gratefully at him. He smiled back. He handed me a small white box with a red cross on it, which contained some healing tonic in a bright blue bottle, bandages, plasters, and a small beaker of water, for cleaning wounds, I guessed. I cleaned and bandaged up my several stab and scratch wounds.

"Now, it is time for you to go down that tunnel, and to resurface to Tutorial Island. I think, next, you will learn about the bank and how to make money with the financial advisor, and then you will go to tutorial church to learn about prayer with Brother Brace. After that, you will go to Terrera the wizard to learn about magic (a skill I don't really understand) and then you will be teleported to Lumbridge, a city in RuneScape. Goodbye, whatever-your-name-is. I'm sure one day you may even enter the dreaded wilderness! Though, that is unlikely, because even I have difficulty going in there," he gabbled, then sighed. I was really wondering what this wilderness was. I hoped I would find out soon.

I gladly left the rat pit, and climbed down this tunnel. I was wearing my bow and arrow sling, and my rucksack. I was also wearing my helmet proudly on my head, and I was wielding my bronze sword and wooden shield. I could see a ladder and a bit of white light at the top of the ladder in the distance, and I wondered what kinds of things awaited me at the end of that ladder.

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_I hope you enjoyed that!_

_I have tried my best to remove errors/typos, but some may still remain. If you spot any please tell me what they are so I can fix them._

_Next chapter: Mainiac97 meets a good friend and a terrible enemy._

_Until next time, toodles!  
_


	7. Chapter 7: The Bank and the Burgular

_Hello, hello, hello, what's happenin' readers?_

_This chapter was re-uploaded at the time chapter 80 was uploaded. If you happen to spot any mistakes/typos in this chapter, please point them out to me. Thank you. I hope you enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Jagex, RuneScape, or any of the RuneScape characters. All I own is the plot of this fanfiction and some of the characters in the story. I am not making a financial profit from this story._

* * *

_**Chapter 7: The Bank and the Burgular**_

I climbed down the small, filthy cavern, wondering what I would encounter in the rest of my time on Tutorial Island. I bumped my head on a large spiky rock on the top of the cavern. I felt myself lose a hit point. I groaned, and sat up, rubbing the bruise on my head.

I was exhausted from the happenings earlier today. First, when I woke up, I was filled up with information about quests that my brain still hadn't digested. Then, later on, I was mining with a pickaxe, and that labour was tedious, horribly tiring, and filthy. Then, just now, I learnt about killing and combat with Vannaka, and I had run into a fight with another person. I had emerged the victor of our duel, but it had drained me of whatever little energy and confidence I had left.

I moaned with tiredness. I just wanted to rest. But, I reassured myself that I would get the chance to rest when I resurfaced. I carried on, and after what felt like hours later, I reached the ladder. I climbed up, and resurfaced again.

By now it was late afternoon. I realised I must have been down in Tutorial Dungeon for ages, five hours at the maximum. I sighed, and breathed in the relaxing, calming aroma of summer. I closed my eyes, and smiled. The slight breeze swept my face, and soothed me. I sniffed the air. I could smell the aromas of the summer air, and I could also smell cooking meat…wait a minute, cooking meat? I sat up instantly. Cooked meat could mean meat sandwiches!

I carried on sniffing. The source of the smell was coming from behind the bushes opposite me. I held my sword, just in case whatever it was that was cooking the food attacked me. I chopped away the bushes, and I saw a young man, about the same height as me, kneeling over a fire, and cooking meat on a stick.

The boy had orange messy hair, which stuck everywhere, as if he'd gotten caught in a lightning storm. He wore a simple but tarnished yellow shirt, and navy trousers. A bronze sword and a wooden shield lay next to him on the grass. He wore leather boots, probably given to him by Brianna back on the survival grounds.

He looked up, spotted me pointing my sword at him, and stood up in alarm, dropping his meat in the fire and ruining what should have been his snack. He grabbed his own sword and shield, and pointed it back at me.

"Do not harm me, or I will harm you back!" he shouted, waving his sword around like a maniac. I chuckled, and put my sword down.

"Do not panic, I am not here to hurt you. I am merely another person, on my way to learn how to use the banking system," I reassured him. He sighed with relief, put his sword down, and turned to continue cooking his meat. He yelled in anger and frustration when he saw the horrible, burnt, smelly, and blackened remains of his food.

He kicked a nearby boulder in rage, and then fell over, rubbing his foot in pain. He had fallen over into some bushes, and was yelling, trying to untangle himself. I just stood there, laughing my head off, trying to stop my sides from splitting. After he untangled himself, he stood up. He looked a real state. He had leaves and twigs stuck in his already messy orange hair. He pulled most of them out.

"By the way, my name is Osrie1," he told me.

"Well, my name is Mainiac97," I replied. I realised I myself was getting hungry. He sighed sadly, staring at the burnt mess, and pulled out two pieces of bread. He began ripping a hunk of bread into pieces, thinking the only lunch he could have would be a piece of bread. Not a very mouth-watering meal. I felt in my bag and felt the raw rat meat. I had a sudden thought, and I told him to keep the bread. I pulled out the five pieces, and surveyed them. I knew for a fact that they were inedible while raw, but I pondered this. If they were rat meat, would they be edible, even when cooked?

"Don't worry, once they are cooked, they will taste like normal meat," Osrie1 reassured me, as though he had read my mind.

I sighed cheerfully, and pulled out my survival kit (except for my fishing net, since I wouldn't need it). I wielded my axe, and began chopping down a nearby tree. I only had to hit it four times. When I had my three logs, I got out my tinderbox, and began scraping the sharp flint ends on the logs, showering them with sparks. After about three minutes, the logs caught fire. I poked two pieces of raw meat on the end of my sharp cooking stick, and put them into the fire. I held them carefully, making sure that the meat didn't burn. Timing it cautiously, I pulled the meat out of the fire. One piece was a wonderful crispy, juicy brown, while the other piece was still a bit raw. I handed him the cooked meat, and told him to put the meat in the bread to make a meat sandwich. He did so, and took a bite of the meat sandwich. After he swallowed his mouthful, he said "Oh my goodness, this is so tasty! You are some cook, Mainiac97!" I smiled proudly at his praise.

After my own meat was finished cooking, Osrie1 handed me a loaf of bread. I put the meat in it, and ate my own snack. I realised I really enjoyed cooking, and then eating the results. After we both finished our food, we decided to have a rest before setting off again. We lay on the grass, looking at the sky. There weren't many clouds there, and the whole area was quite sunny. The fire was crackling nearby merrily, casting shadows on the trees, bushes, and rocks. I could hear the birds twittering and singing, and the slight breeze blew gently against my cheek. I closed my eyes, and groaned with exuberance. I just lay there, on the grass, listening to the sounds of nature, feeling very relaxed indeed. I felt my eyes closing, and I drifted off into a deep sleep.

I sat up after what felt like an hour. I looked around. _I must have dozed off, _I thought to myself. Osrie1 was sitting on a nearby rock, reading the recipe book that Lev the chef gave us. He looked up, and saw me rubbing my eyes. He grinned.

"Did I doze off?" I asked.

"Yes, and I nearly did too," Osrie1 said, chortling.

"I think I'll have a look what is in my bag now," I announced to him. He nodded, and continued reading. I opened up my bag, and looked into the main section. There were four pockets. There was one enormous pocket, which was the main bag itself. Another one had a picture of some very strange ball of blue light. That pocket was in a circular shape. The other pocket was more of a pouch, which was very big on the inside. And the last one was in a rectangle shape, which contained three books. One of them was my strange olive-green book, the second was the recipe book, and the third was my quest journal.

I peered into the main section. There was my bronze woodcutting axe and my tinderbox at the bottom. My cooking stick and my fishing net lay on top, along with a set of logs. Then, on top of that, were an empty bucket and pot, and some grain for some particular reason. There was a chef's hat piled up on top of that. Then, nearby that, there was a bronze pickaxe, a heavy stone hammer, and a home-made bronze dagger. Then, piled on top of all that, there were 3 pieces of raw rat meat, and 5 sets of bones, and a first aid kit, which contained some healing tonic, plasters and bandages. The bag was stuffed up with all of that, but it was still nowhere near full. I was pretty surprised because of that. I closed my bag, and poked Osrie1 hard in the back to get his attention.

"I think we should set off to learn about banking," I told Osrie1. He sighed, closed his book, and put it back in his bag.

We began to walk down the stone cobbled path. I could see, after walking for approximately 5 minutes, a stone building in the distance. It was the biggest building I had seen so far; it was far bigger then Lev's house. We turned the corner, and saw the building from the front itself.

It was a very big stone building, with shiny oak front doors, with golden doorknobs. On the front, on top of the doors, was an enormous money symbol made of shiny gold. I went towards the oak door and I turned the doorknob, wondering what was inside.

I stepped in, with Osrie1 behind me, looking around anxiously. The inside was absolutely stunning. The floor, ceiling and walls were made of shiny white marble, and there were giant marble pillars running around the edges of the room. Giant marble steps and another oak door stood on the other side of the room. In the walls, there were several bank booths, with glass walls protecting the bankers. There was a large golden chandelier on the ceiling, with the lights out at the moment. Sunshine poured in from the colossal windows. There was a shiny oak table on the other end, and there was a man sitting on a chair next to it.

The man was writing something down on a piece of paper, using a quill and a bottle of ink. He looked up, saw us, and beamed at us. He stood up, allowing us to see him properly.

He wore long robes made entirely out of gold, with a red and silver pattern going down the sides. He wore a long, golden cape, and had a rucksack which clinked every time he moved. He wore large horn-rimmed glasses, which were as thick as the bottoms of milk bottles. Around his neck, he wore a large golden necklace which had a very big money symbol on the end. It was crafted out of a wonderful, strong gold, and it looked extremely valuable. He saw me looking at his necklace.

"Hello newcomers, I am the financial advisor. I was hired from the mainland because I am extremely rich, and I knew a thing or two about the bank and making money. I even bought a trip through the wilderness, but I took the wilderness for granted then, and the trip still haunts me now," he told us, shuddering. I wondered what on earth this wilderness was. I didn't wander on the thought, though, but I had a terrible feeling about the wilderness, and I felt it was important. _It is not important at the moment,_ my mind told me. _Banking is your main priority at the moment. _

"Well, this bank medallion is a sign of how rich I am," the financial advisor boasted. "Only the richest people in the world can afford it. 50 million gold pieces sounds like a lot of money, doesn't it?" he asked me, chuckling at my shocked expression. 50 million gold pieces! For some strange reason I knew the currency of RuneScape already. Since I appeared out of nowhere yesterday, the currency had been planted in my head. Osrie1 looked very shocked too. The financial advisor laughed heartily.

"Well, down to business. The bank is a public facility where you can go and store your items and withdraw them. You can have your own personal PIN number also, to protect your bank account from burglars who are greedy and poor enough to resort to stealing. Go on to one of the staff in those bank booths, and you can start your bank account then," he explained. We nodded, and set off to two separate bank booths.

I went towards a bank booth with a kind-looking lady in it. She smiled at me.

"Welcome to the bank of RuneScape, how may I help you?" she asked me.

"I would like to open a bank account please," I told her. She smiled again.

"Very well, newcomer, please tell me what you would like your PIN number to be," she told me, "Then we can start your account." I whispered some numbers to her. She nodded, and pressed a few buttons in front of her.

"What is your name?" she asked me. I told her, and she pressed another few buttons. "Very well, let us test out your PIN number, and we'll open up your bank account," she said. She pressed yet another button, and a large red panel with buttons with numbers on them popped up in front of me. I pressed in my code, and the panel clicked, and then disappeared. Then, an enormous metal brown box appeared in front of me, held up by an arm on the wall. I gasped.

It was the most gigantic thing I had ever seen. It looked so roomy inside; it looked like everyone in RuneScape could squarely fit in it. There were shelves on each end of the box, and a large crane-like thing for withdrawing and depositing things.

"Just say what you want to deposit or withdraw to the banking crane, and it will do that," she told me. "And better yet, it only works to your voice only!" But, as I looked into the large, empty bank account, I saw something glimmering on a nearby shelf. It was something golden. My heart gave a jolt. I reached out for it, and scooped it up. I just gawped at it. It was a pile of money. I counted the gold pieces. There were about 50 of them! 50 gold pieces! I ran towards the financial instructor, telling the banker to keep my account open, but to make sure nobody stole anything.

I explained to him what I saw in my bank, and showed him. He grinned up at me.

"Well, I am entitled to give all newcomers 50gp to start them off in RuneScape," he explained. I went back to my account, and put my money back in. I and Osrie1 went up to the financial advisor for further instructions.

"Well, I am going to give you some handy tips on how to make money," he said. "First, play to your strengths. You have just been introduced to all these abilities, but later in life you will find out what you like. For example, let us say you like mining and smithing. You make a bar of pure gold, and then you sell it for a high profit in shops. Maybe some other players would be willing to pay money for your item. That is actually how I made so much money.

"Another thing you can do that is very dangerous would be to kill different monsters," he told us. "Like zombies, for example. They are extremely difficult to kill, and may require prayer or magic of some kind. But the items they drop may be worth it. Saradomin knows what a zombie might hold. You could try killing other people in places where you can, where you are allowed to. People could be holding anything. There are millions of other monsters that have very valuable drops, but there is no point in me going through all of them.

"One last thing you could do to get money would be to steal it. You could use magic to steal it, you could scam someone out of it, or you could pickpocket people for it. But, keep in mind; stealing is a lowly, terrible thing to do, so never do it, unless you really have to. You could get yourself killed." He warned us. I and Osrie1 nodded silently.

"Now, you both have been such good listeners, I am going to reward the pair of you," he said. He opened his bag, and fished out two things, and put them into our hands. The most beautiful emerald I had ever seen lay in my palm. The first emerald I had ever seen in RuneScape, to be honest. But it twinkled merrily in the sunlight, and it looked like something from heaven.

"Put it in your bank, safe and sound," the financial advisor instructed. We obliged, typing in our PIN numbers, and carefully telling the crane to put our gems safely in our banks. I also put in my chef's hat, my spare logs, my raw rat meat, and my bronze dagger in the bank.

Just as we were preparing to leave, there was a very loud crash, and a man came pelting in through the oak doors.

He had a thick black moustache, like a gorilla's thumb had been stuck there. He had thick, curly, but matted black hair. He wore very dirty red rags, and had a very big empty brown sack across his back. He was holding a blue mithril dagger, and a mithril square shield. He was a level 36. He had pale, sallow skin, and looked a state. He stepped towards a bank booth.

The financial advisor stepped forward. "What on earth are you doing on Tutorial Island, James? You should be on the mainland!" he roared. James smiled evilly, like that boy I had to fight with in the rat pit.

"Let us say I have mastered certain magical spells that have allowed me to teleport here," he whispered in a low, dangerous voice. "Now everyone here put your hands up! I am robbing this bank!" he then shouted, his sinister echoing across the bank. Everyone put their hands up, including me and a terrified Osrie1.

"Now, hand me that bag!" James bellowed to the financial advisor. The financial advisor, quaking with fear, handed James the large bag full of different gems. James smirked, and stepped towards the financial advisor. Almost instantly, the advisor kicked James's dagger hand, forcing him to drop it. James hissed angrily, and moved his hand upwards. The dagger, amazingly, hovered up, and James grabbed it. He threw the dagger at the advisor, where is hit him in the chest. The advisor knelt over, and, sobbing, fell to the floor with a bang. The dagger went flying back into James's hand.

James cackled evilly, and headed towards the door. I pulled out my shortbow and a handful of arrows. I put an arrow into the rope, pulled the rope back, and the arrow went flying towards James. It hit him right in the shoulder. James yelled in pain, and pulled the arrow out. He turned, and saw me with my shortbow. He hissed, and, wielding his dagger, stepped towards me. I stepped back nervously. I was stupid to try and injure him. Fighting a boy in the rat pit that was the same level as me was one thing, but fighting a fully grown man much stronger then me was another thing.

I tried to run away, but James created some kind of glowing blue rope from nothing, and threw it at me. It hit me in the ankle, and wrapped itself around both of them, causing me to trip. I fell, and the rope coiled itself around my body. My bow fell on the floor with a clatter, as I lay there, helpless.

"I'll teach you to try and harm me!" he bellowed angrily, making the bank shake. He raised his dagger, getting ready to deliver a fatal blow to my heart, when he yelled with pain again.

Osrie1 was standing there, shaking with fury. He was also holding his shortbow, and he had fired an arrow directly into James's gut. Blood was pouring all over the clean marble floor. A terrible dark light filled the bank, and then James was flying in the air. His eyes were purple, and when he spoke again, he sounded different. Osrie1 went forwards to me quickly, and cut me free with his sword. This evil dark energy was blowing a terrible gust into my face. The sunlight was being smothered by the darkness. Then, suddenly, dark purple thunder came crashing out of nowhere.

"I will show you the true power of magic and rage combined!" he roared, and then a purple demon made of flames came out of nowhere. The demon roared, and then disappeared. Big purple flashes began. The evil wind was howling by now. I got out my short bow just as James was muttering a fatal curse, and I sent an arrow flying through the sky. The arrow hit him in the side again. The dark light was sucked back into James, while the evil howling wind stopped abruptly.

James came crashing to the floor. Osrie1 got ready to fire another arrow, as did I. We both sent a shower of arrows raining down on him. He screamed, and ran outside the bank, leaving the bag of gems behind him. We stepped outside into the sunlight too. There was a loud black bang and James disappeared.

Using our first aid kits, Osrie1and I helped heal the financial advisor. He told us that James had been some trouble ever since he came to Tutorial Island. He decided to close the door, padlock it, and close it to new people for the day so he could repair the bank and heal himself. We gave him our goodbyes, and set off through the other oak doors at the other end of the bank. We walked back onto the stone path, ready to learn about prayer and magic.

I wondered privately how I was going to manage. It was a wonder I was still alive, with the boy who attacked me in Vannaka's rat pit, and James trying to kill me and Osrie1 with a fatal curse. What would come next?

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_I hope that was to your liking._

_Just a note, the money symbol mentioned in this chapter is supposed to signify the American Dollar symbol (as in, the S with a line through it). For some reason, when I type it, it doesn't come out in the chapter itself._

_Next time: "Welcome, my friends, to tutorial church! The holy god Saradomin looks over us here in this church. I am here to teach you the basics of prayer, and all of its glory."_

_Until next time, toodles!_


	8. Chapter 8: Prayer with Brother Brace

_Hello, hello, hello, what's happenin' readers?_

_This chapter was edited and re-uploaded at the same time as chapter 82. I have made every effort to remove mistakes/typos but, naturally, some may remain. If you spot anything I missed please point it out to me. Thanks, and enjoy._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Jagex, RuneScape, or any of the RuneScape characters. All I own is the plot of this fanfiction and some of the characters in the story. I am not making a financial profit from this story._

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_**Chapter 8: Prayer with Brother Brace**_

Osrie1 and I were running down the long, twisty, cobbled stone path, covering our heads with our shields. The sky above us was roaring. The sun had been blocked out by miserable grey clouds, and the wind was howling in my face. Rain was pouring down on us, as if we were in some gigantic shower. I could feel the terrible rain pattering noisily on my helmet and shield. I could just barely see and hear a clap of thunder over the howling of the wind. Nearby trees were falling down, not from the thud of an axe, but because of the strength and force of the dismal weather.

A slight fog was rising over the ground, making everything ten times worse. Osrie1's messy orange hair was flying everywhere. I was shivering, trying to use my wooden shield to defend myself from the merciless and ferocious weather. But, surprisingly, it did almost no difference. The weather had decided to go around the shield to hit me, instead of trying to go through the shield. In the end, I gave up trying to defend myself, thinking about how useless a shield was if you couldn't protect yourself with it against a bit of rain and wind. But a bit of rain and wind was an understatement, I thought glumly, as the bad-tempered weather tried to send us flying into the nearby lake. Another clap of thunder appeared in the sky, illuminating the sky with light.

"RUN!" I shouted at Osrie1 behind me, who nodded, and sped ahead of me. I looked opposite the lake, and nearly tripped in amazement. In the distance, past the lake, I could see a large hill. On the top of the hill was a group of people, some cutting down trees (which was a bit pointless, I thought, as the trees were falling down without axes). Others were attempting the almost impossible task of setting fires.

I could see a pinprick person leaning over a hopeless case of a fire. The only reason I could see him or her over the gale, and the mist, was because of the billowing amazing red cape the person wore fluttering in the wind. That hill crowded with people was the survival grounds, and that red-caped person was Brianna.

I followed the two paths with my eyes. The first led back to the RuneScape guide's house, which I couldn't really see clearly. The other led down the hill to a windmill, which was turning very quickly in this wind. I could see the grain field was almost empty, as the wind was blowing all of the grain away. But it was growing back very quickly. I followed the path even further to a house, which was the quest master's house. After that was underground, I knew. I dodged a nearby wave that the wind had blown out of the lake. Another clap of thunder was heard.

By now Osrie1 was attempting to drag me behind him. Grumbling, I continued running, which took a lot of effort, since the wind and rain had turned its blow up to full pelt.

After a nightmarish ten minutes of trudging through the bad weather, we saw a large cathedral-like building. It was the biggest building I had seen so far, even bigger than the bank. It had large stained-glass windows, which had pictures of different holy-looking men and women. But the biggest window on the side had a large bearded man with golden robes on him. The building was made of large silver bricks the size of huge cupboards. There were shiny main doors in front of us. We walked through them into his massive building.

It was colossal on the inside. There were rows of seats on the close end near us, and at the far end there was a white altar with a golden candle on it, along with a golden bowl full of what looked like water. There was a shelf full of books on the wall by the far end, with a wooden chair next to it, with a small wooden door next to the chair. There was a man sitting on the chair, reading a book.

This man wore long brown monk robes, and was bald. He wore a golden holy symbol around his neck. He wore a long, golden cape, and like all other guides on Tutorial Island, he had a large rucksack on his back. His eyes were a greenish-brownish colour. He saw us standing there; shivering and sopping wet, and smiled at us.

"Welcome, my friends, to tutorial church! The holy god Saradomin looks over us here in this church. I am here to teach you the basics of prayer, and all of its glory. My name is Brother Brace, and I was originally a monk from the monastery back on the mainland. But the prayer master there enlisted me to travel here, to Tutorial Island, to teach the new players about prayer. There is much for you to learn, friends," he told us kindly. He looked at a book in his hand, and gasped at the front cover.

"Goodness gracious! Look at my prayer points! I'd better pray and to thank the lord Saradomin for the goodness in life, and to recharge my prayer points," he exclaimed. He went towards the altar, dipped his hand in the holy water, and spread it across his face. He kneeled over, and put his hands together. He muttered some kind of prayer. After a few seconds, a wonderful, glorious light filled the room, coming from the altar, and then faded. Brother Brace looked happily at his book, and then turned to us again.

"Well, that was a basic example of what you should do when praying by an altar of Saradomin. Praying by a chaos altar is quite different, though. By praying on a chaos altar, you are worshipping the evil god, Zamorak, who is purely a prince of darkness, Saradomin's worst enemy. Zamorak worshippers do something with some kind of evil wine, but I am not entirely sure, since I do not pray to Zamorak," he informed us.

"First, let me explain about prayer points," Brother Brace said. "When you are new to this world, you only have one prayer point. But, you can raise your prayer level by doing two things.

"The first would be to pray. You raise levels by praying to any god, but Saradomin has mercy in his soul. If you pray to Zamorak, you would have to stick with him, or you will anger him, and the last thing you want is a vengeful god. Just pray to raise your points.

"The second thing you can do is bury bones of the dead. Use the little shovel I will now give you to make a small hole, bury the bones in it, and cover it with earth. At least the dead creature will have a burial of some kind. It shows goodness in your heart, and will raise your level. The bigger the bones, the more prayer points you will gain." After finishing his speech, he handed the pair of us small shovels from his bag, perfect for digging.

"Another thing you might ask is, 'what is the point to prayer points? What can you do with them?' Well, the answer to that is, almost anything! It usually depends on who you've prayed to. There are very righteous prayers that are useful in combat, but there are some evil ones too that can be useful. There are prayers to raise special defences, making it very difficult to attack. There are special advanced prayer attacks, like the complex one 'blast of light', a Saradomin prayer (Zamorak worshippers use blast of darkness). That requires great prayer experience. It shoots a ball of powerful light or blackness towards the foe, causing him/her a great deal of harm, especially if that foe is an evil sorcerer, or a demon of pure evil, while using blast of light. It requires a prayer level of 68 to do both! Uttering such prayers would drain you tremendously of energy and prayer points.

"Another thing you can do to gain prayer experience is repair other people's gravestones. When people die here, you see, they lose all of their items except for three exceptions and their books, and get sent back to their respawning area. They leave behind gravestones, their bones, and a pile of their items. The items are protected from greedy people, and only the owner of the items can come back to their gravestone to pick them up. But the gravestones are fragile, and only last a couple of minutes, unless other people pray for or bless the gravestones, so they last longer. But, a word of warning, once the gravestones disappear, so do the items.

"You need to pray at an altar to recharge your points. I will give you two a book that includes all of the different prayers that can be cast," Brother Brace explained. He handed both of us books with buckles on them. It had a sign of Saradomin (a star-like shape) on one side, and a crooked bolt of lightning on the other side (Zamorak's sign). In the middle there was a golden symbol of what looked like weighing scales. One side was silver, while the other was a blackish-purplish colour. In the middle, above the scales, was my prayer level (one) and below, how many prayer points I had left (one also).

I put the book away in my book pouch. The pouch was getting a bit full, and probably could only fit in one more book. I stood up to ask another question, but I was interrupted by Brother Brace.

"Well, my dear friends, you have learnt the basics of prayer, but you can wear this beginner's amulet of prayer to help you pray. When you decide to which god your loyalty lies, you can buy or make that god's symbol. I am wearing the most advanced symbol of Saradomin, given to me by the prayer master in the monastery," he told us.

He fished out two simple amulets from his bag, and handed them to us. There was a string of red ribbon attached to the amulet, so we could put them around our neck. The amulet itself was made out of simple silver, and had the symbols of Saradomin, Zamorak and the mysterious weighing scale symbol on it, on three ends. The amulet seemed to possess this strange power that felt like it was coming from the centre. I put it on. Brother brace smiled at me, but then grimaced as a man went through the door.

This man wore robes of a deep red, like Brother Brace's robes, but a different colour. He wore a golden unholy symbol around his neck, and had a very haunted look about him. He was bald. Brother Brace scowled.

"My brother, Master Samuel, what are you doing in the holy Saradomin tutorial church? Be gone, you evil supporter of Zamorak!" Brother Brace shouted across the church at this man. Master Samuel chuckled, not in a friendly way, in an evil way.

"Ah, but brother, I am here on one quest, sent by Zamorak. You see, I am plotting something big, and to help me with my plans I must teach new people the power of Zamorak, so I am taking over this church," he spat back at Brother Brace. They glared at each other so loathsomely that you couldn't tell which one hated the other the most.

"There is no way I am giving up the holy church to a monk of Zamorak like you," he growled. "Go back to where you lot came from, that being the wilderness!" I wondered, yet again, what the wilderness was.

Master Samuel got a jug of some kind of wine out of his robes. This wine had an aura of menace around it, and was bubbling a bit. It was a terrible, deep red, like blood. Brother Brace's expression turned from furious to absolutely terrified. He got the water from the top of the altar, and, shaking madly, he whimpered "How dare you bring that vile substance into this holy church!"

"You really expect to scare me with a bowl of holy water?" Master Samuel chuckled. Master Samuel went towards Brother Brace, forced the bowl of holy water out of his hand, and spilled some of his wine into the bowl. The water turned black. The room filled with a dark light coming out of the bowl. Brother Brace started creating some kind of ball of light behind his back. Then, suddenly, the ball grew from the size of a tennis ball to the size of a football. It grew bigger, and bigger, until it was so big Master Samuel could see it from behind his back.

"Fine then, we will fight fire with fire," he laughed, creating a ball of pure darkness. Both were muttering prayers under their breath, until they both yelled "BLAST OF LIGHT/DARKNESS!" and fired the balls at each other. Both missed each other by inches, and hit the intended targets. Brother Brace flew seven feet into the air, before landing with a crash on top of Osrie1. Master Samuel, however, got blasted into the shelf of books, and the shelf fell on top of him.

Brother Brace got up, apologised to Osrie1, and using some kind of prayer, lifted up the shelf and all of the books, and put them neatly back where they were meant to be. Master Samuel, groaning, stood up. There was a beam of dark light, a gust of cold wind, and he was gone.

"Well, at least that vermin has gone," Brother Brace muttered. "But oh my goodness, he had unholied the holy water!" He got a jug of gleaming water from his bag, and spilled the purple mess that was in the bowl outside. He refilled the bowl with holy water, and placed it back on top of the altar. He apologised to the gods, recharged his prayer points, and turned to us.

"Well, you seemed to have learnt all I can teach you, so you may leave," Brother Brace told us. We were preparing to set off, before I asked the question I had been longing to ask.

"Which god do the scales on my amulet and book represent?" I asked timidly.

"Ah, that represents the god of balance, Guthix, who stopped the god wars," Brother Brace replied.

My mind exploded with questions. The god wars? Guthix? What on the name of RuneScape were they?

"Could you tell us about the god wars, please?" I asked. Brother Brace sighed. He obviously hadn't really expected this.

"Very well, I shall tell you a tale that has been repeated for years now," he muttered. We waited with baited breath for the ancient tale of the god wars.

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_...and that concludes chapter 8! I hope y'all enjoyed that!_

_Next time, the tale of the god wars is retold to Mainiac97 and Osrie1, but I've twisted the classic story around and created my own alternative version in the process._

_Until next time, toodles!  
_


	9. Chapter 9: The Tale of the God Wars

_Hello, hello, what's happenin' readers?_

_This is a re-uploaded version of chapter 9, in which the tale of the God Wars is recounted to Mainiac97 and Osrie1. If you see mistakes that I missed, please point them out to me. Thanks. Enjoy!  
_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Jagex, RuneScape, or any of the RuneScape characters. All I own is the plot of this fanfiction and some of the characters in the story. I am not making a financial profit from this story._

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_**Chapter 9: The Tale of the God Wars**_

Osrie1 and I sat down on the red patterned mat, getting ready to hear Brother Brace tell us the story of the God Wars. Brother Brace cleared his throat, and began to repeat the famous story.

"Well, everything started back in the third age (we are now in the fifth age). There was a mighty, powerful god called Zaros, who had many supporters and owned half of RuneScape, that he named the wilderness. It was a bare stretch of land, which was not dangerous in the least back then. He gave only his closest supporters godly powers. He had a rival, but not an enemy, named Saradomin, the god of goodness. Zaros wasn't wicked either, but he definitely was powerful. Life was excellent back then, with living things roaming everywhere.

"But there was one supporter that was an exception in Zaros' group, and his name was Zamorak. Zamorak had been entrusted with an exceptional amount of power, since he was closest to Zaros, but he was very evil in his heart, he had no goodness at all in him, and he wanted to rule RuneScape with evil. Saradomin didn't trust Zamorak at all, and tried to warn Zaros about Zamorak. But Zaros thought Saradomin was trying to make a fool of him, so he ignored his rival.

"That was a very big mistake, because Zamorak was jealous of Zaros. One particular day, Zamorak hatched a diabolical plan to get rid of Zaros. He used the power Zaros gave him against Zaros. There was a catastrophic fight, and Zamorak emerged the victor of their duel. Zaros fell to the floor, dead, while Zamorak feasted on Zaros' power. Sooner or later, Zamorak turned into a true god, while Zaros' useless body rotted on the floor.

"Saradomin may have had a rivalry with Zaros, but he didn't hate him, and he was extremely angry when he heard of what Zamorak did to him. Zamorak was destroying and ruling over the world with his terrible deeds, and was easily eliminating Asgarnia, Misalthin, and Kandarin. He was causing havoc all over Saradomin's side of the world. People were dying, races were being wiped out, and when Zamorak's warriors attacked, there was very little hope of survival.

"Saradomin saw what was happening to his land, and he was absolutely furious with Zamorak, so war broke out between Saradomin and Zamorak. The wilderness grew harmful and evil and destroyed, with the lush trees dying, the green mountain in the middle turning into a volcano, and Zamorak supporters roaming everywhere in it. You were in danger even daring to step over the ditch Zamorak made with his finger, to separate two different kingdoms.

"The terrors of the war are indescribable. Screaming was always puncturing the air, billions of creatures were dying every day, and the sky was aflame with thunderbolts and blasts of light and darkness, where Saradomin and Zamorak were fighting one to one.

"The war spread throughout RuneScape like wildfire. Many races grew extinct. The war carried on right throughout the third age, but towards the end of the third age and the start of the fourth age, Guthix awoke.

"Guthix was another god, and was a very powerful one too. He believed in balance, and that there should be no war and everyone should be the same. He was full of pulsing energy. But, he fell into a deep slumber at the end of the first age due to tiredness of using his power at once, and would only awake in a time of terrible, deep peril.

"When almost all hope was lost, Guthix woke up, and filled with rage at what he saw. Creatures, strewn across the floor like forgotten objects, cried their last cries. Others still fought for freedom, and the raging fight between light and darkness high in the sky never ended. Guthix used some unknown power, and blew it right through the world. A lot of evil creatures died. Saradomin and Zamorak were forced apart, high in the skies, only able to use their power from up there. Guthix repaired most of the life, but there was one thing he could not repair; that was the wilderness.

"The wilderness was the most dangerous place in RuneScape ever since. No measure of Guthix's power could repair the damage that had been dealt there. The once great land of Zaros had been wrecked. The spirits of the dead rose, as evil, powerful, vengeful creatures called revenants. They still exist, and attack random passing people. They only exist in vapour, making it difficult to attack back. There are many other creatures that live in the wilderness, making it the most dangerous area in the entire world. It is now an extremely horrible area, and several fight arenas have been put in it.

"The wilderness is destroyed, and Guthix has gone to join his fellow gods in the heavens, but they still are able to communicate to us through prayer. Some worry that Zamorak will rise again, and restart the God Wars, but in my opinion, that is very unlikely, but supporters still try to return him," Brother Brace finished.

I mulled this story in my brain. Was Zamorak so evil he would kill his own leader, take over, and destroy our peaceful world? How could he do such a greedy thing? Many creatures died, and he has turned the wilderness from a place of peace into a horrible, disgusting place, filled with evil. I never knew there could be somebody as dishonest as Zamorak, but I was glad Guthix put a stop to it all.

I sighed, and stepped outside. Before I left, I held the door open with my bag, and got out my shovel and all of my bones from killing rats. I dug a small hole, and put the bones in it. I covered it with earth, and stroked it down with my shovel. I went inside. I went up to the altar, dipped my two fingers in it, and spread it across my face. I knelt down in prayer, and opened my prayer book in front of me. I said the first, level-one prayer on thanking Saradomin for goodness, and light.

"Thou father Saradomin in the heavens, I thank thee for happiness, light, and goodness in our hearts. I will worship you still, for the rest of my life, and may you grant me with goodness," I murmured, reading it from the text book. A glorious white light filled the church, and I felt a wave of happiness and warmth swoop through me. I felt myself getting stronger, and then small fireworks popped up around me, informing me of raising a prayer level. Osrie1 prayed too, and more light filled tutorial church.

I was preparing to leave, and I looked out the window. It had been raining slightly when I went out to bury my bones, but now the rain had stopped, and the sun was shining. I was going to leave, when a loud crash went through the main entrance, and Vannaka came tumbling in.

Beads of sweat were running down his head and his helmet was askew. He was gasping for air, and was bent on all fours. His eyes were rolling, and he looked as though he had just jumped into a swimming pool.

"Vannaka, my friend, what are you doing so far away from your post at the rat pit? What is the matter?" Brother Brace asked urgently.

"Rats...gone mad…attacked little noobs…all overpowered me…I just managed…to escape…I saw…more rats…headed from…mainland…towards…Tutorial…Island…they…will attack…the island…we need…help," Vannaka gasped. He fell to the floor, unconscious.

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_...and that concludes chapter 9!_

_I would like to stress that **I know that this version of the God Wars story is inaccurate.** Many people have said to me that this isn't a correct retelling of the God Wars story, and there are flaws in it, but I am aware of that. This is how I wrote it when I first wrote this chapter, and this is the version that the story is based on. Consider this as my version of Jagex's God Wars._

_Next chapter... "They had their teeth bared, and they were making noisy, unpleasant hissing noises."_

_Until next time, toodles!_


	10. Chapter 10: The Army of Rats

_Hello, hello, hello, what's happenin' readers?_

_This is the re-uploaded version of chapter 10, with mistakes corrected and some small changes made. I hope you enjoy this chapter!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Jagex, RuneScape, or any of the RuneScape characters. All I own is the plot of this fanfiction and some of the characters in the story. I am not making a financial profit from this story._

* * *

_**Chapter 10: The Army of Rats**_

"Oh great, Vannaka has just fainted in my holy church. He is blabbering about some army of rats coming towards Tutorial Island!" Brother Brace exclaimed, looking extremely annoyed. I looked with uncertainty at the limp form of Vannaka. I had only just met him, but I knew enough about him to guess he wouldn't faint just because he had lost control of his rats. In fact, he would probably easily slaughter all of them. I sighed, and paced the church.

Something strange was happening. First James trying to rob the bank, then Master Samuel trying to take over the church, now Vannaka barging in, blabbering about crazy rats! It was definitely odd.

I reluctantly decided to set off to learn about magic, but then another person came running into the church through the exit I was about to set foot through. This man wore a large blue wizard's hat, and blue wizard robes. He wore a long blue cape, with a familiar rucksack on his back. All of his clothes were exactly the same shade of blue.

"Terrera, my friend, what are you doing in this church? Why are you not in your house where you teach magic?" Brother Brace grumbled, clearly unhappy that he was getting so many unexpected visitors in one day.

"My friend, this is urgent!" Terrera yelled. "I was looking out my window at the mainland, and what did I see? Millions of rats, small and giant, were scuttling across the water! I am not jesting! The water had turned purple where they had been walking, and their eyes were glowing red, I saw this though my telescope!" Brother Brace just gawped at him disbelievingly. He stepped towards the altar, and muttered the "sight" prayer. His eyes then turned entirely blue, and a look of growing shock spread across his face. He then murmured another prayer, and I felt highly peculiar. I felt like someone was spilling water on my eyes, which were turning blue, and then I saw the sea.

I was flying far above Tutorial Island, and I could see everything. All of the places on the island were visible, from the church, to Brianna's survival grounds. Millions of big and small rats were scuttling towards Tutorial Island on the water, leaving purple footprints on the water, footprints which faded several seconds after they had appeared. I looked up closer, and saw that their eyes were indeed glowing red. It was a terrible red. They had their teeth bared, and they were making unpleasant hissing noises. I tried to scream, but no noise came out of my throat. Then, I was falling through nothingness. Before I hit the ground, I was back in the church, shivering.

"How are we going to stop these creatures? It seems like an impossible task! Another question which strikes me is what are they doing away from the mainland in the first place? What evil spirit is helping them over? Their strength must have increased dramatically if they can overpower Vannaka!" Brother Brace practically screamed, very obviously frightened.

"We will have to do what we do best!" Terrera answered. "I will use magic to fight back. You will use prayer. Vannaka can use combat, to fight back, when he wakes up." Brother Brace went to recharge his prayer points.

"We can help," Osrie1 and I said at exactly the same time. Brother Brace chuckled. Terrera the magician just smiled politely at us.

"You two are just beginners. You should keep safe in this church while we do all the fighting. We don't want you to get injured, do we? Respawning here would be a terrible inconvenience, and I'm not even sure if you'll be able to respawn. Apparently, some people who are dying nowadays stay dead and don't respawn," Terrera sighed, looking tired. Osrie1 sighed, and flopped on a stool, but I was persistent.

"But I want to fight, to test out everything that I have learnt!" I shouted. "Why are you stopping us?" Terrera gave this a bit of thought.

"OK then, but please, for the sake of Saradomin, don't die on us! That is the last thing we need!" Terrera finally replied, looking defeated. I whooped, and jumped for joy. I could practice my newly-learnt prayer, and my ranged and close-up combat skills! Osrie1 sat up, and we followed Brother Brace and Terrera out the main entrance, stepping over the fainted Vannaka in the process.

Brianna was among the nearby trees, cutting down the trees, so we could see the approaching rats in the water. Lev and the financial instructor were talking gravely. Deezick the mining instructor and the quest master were leading a troop of new people, who were looking nervous, and were wielding wooden shields and swords. Brianna sat up from her work and waved at me. I went up to the quest master.

"Where is the RuneScape guide?" I asked him.

"Well, he thought he had better stay in his house, so the newest people don't go on, into danger," he whispered back. I nodded, and went up to Brianna, to help her. Lev poked me in the back.

"I don't think you have had food yet, so I went to the trouble to bake some meat pies for everyone, just in case we get injured, so we can recover," he told me. He handed me two wonderful looking pies from his bag. "One for you, one for Osrie1 over there," he explained. I nodded, thanked him, and handed Osrie1 a pie. I bit into it. It tasted nice and meaty, but nothing compared to a meat sandwich. Osrie1, on the other hand, was positively delighted at it.

"This is the most heavenly thing I have ever tasted! It tastes so succulent, so juicy, meat sandwiches are nothing compared to this!" he announced, unnerving me a bit. I guessed meat pies were going to be his favourite dish for now on. Meat pies VS meat sandwiches. Who would win? I finished my pie, and went over to join Brianna.

"Well hello there Mainiac97! It is nice to see you!" she said enthusiastically. I waved, and then I took out my own bronze axe, and started helping her. After about six hits, the tree fell down. Instead of picking up the logs, I left them. After hitting down seven more trees, I saw small fireworks pop up around me, and I saw that I was woodcutting level three. After Brianna and I had cut down the rest of the trees, we saw the sea.

The rats were approaching fast. We could hear their gruesome hissing from here. Just then, Vannaka woke up. Groaning and moaning, he stepped outside, but stood up the moment he saw the rats. He swore loudly, making Osrie1 flinch. After five minutes, the rats arrived at the shore, crunching up the rocks underneath their feet.

"Everybody attack!" Vannaka roared, charging at the approaching rats. I got my bow at the ready, and sent an arrow flying towards a giant rat. It hit the rat, and sunk deep into its gut, but it just squealed, and carried on running at us. I heard the sound of trees collapsing, as the other rats arrived, and rushed into them. Osrie1 ran up to a giant rat, and slaughtered it with difficulty. The rats had been hardened for battle by whoever was taking over them (obviously, rats wouldn't normally do this). Burying the bones quickly, and ignoring the meat, he ran towards another rat. The quest master got out an adamant long sword from his bag, and began attacking the rats. Brianna got her woodcutting axe, and joined the bloodshed. Some of the new people stayed put and shot arrows (like me) while others ran into the middle of the action with their swords.

Vannaka was doing an easy job of killing rats, swinging his scimitar around, slaughtering them mercilessly. He made it look easy. However, despite Vannaka's attempt to ward off the growing number of strong rats attacking him, they still continued piling on him. Sooner or later, he was overpowered, and rats jumped on him from all directions. He was forced to drop his sword, and his shield, and his screams pierced the day. We saw them use their sharp teeth to rip his flesh apart. I picked up his scimitar, but I felt an electric shock fly through my body, and I had to drop it. My olive-green book flew out of my bag, and into my hand. It flipped open to the back page, where it said 'you must be level 40 attack or more to wield this sword!' I watched helplessly as the rats attacked Vannaka.

All hope was almost lost. Brother Brace sent a blast of light at the rats, and it successfully killed several of them, but more came. Terrera tried to use some kind of blue, wet-looking thunder bolt at them, and that killed a lot of them, but it was no use. I tried to kill them, with some arrows, then with my sword, but that was also no use. More rats came. In the end, Vannaka screamed, before falling into silence. The rats must have realised he was as good as dead, because they were scuttling towards us, hissing, continuing their attack.

The war raged on, and Terrera burned several of them to crisps with some gigantic waves of flames. I shot another arrow at a rat, which went through its neck, killing it. Fireworks went up around me, and my ranging level raised up to three. After stabbing a rat three times in the face, it died, and my attack level raised up to three. Then, what felt like several explosions went up around me, nearly blowing me off my feet, then I found out I was now combat level four.

With raised strength, I was killing the level three rats easier, while I tried to ignore the level six ones, or the enormous level nine ones. The small, normal level ones were easy to kill, unless they jumped up onto your face, dug their claws into your cheeks, and stayed there. Once, a level nine rat bounded up onto me, and nearly ripped me to shreds, if Brianna hadn't beheaded it with her woodcutting axe. Deezick was causing the small rats a lot of pain with his pickaxe, while he tended to avoid the giant rats.

Lev dragged a dying Vannaka off the battlefield, forcing him to eat the meat pies and to drink the wine, while applying healing tonic to his wounds. I had gone off the battlefield too, to tend to my large scratches and cuts caused by the level nine. I fought from afar, using my arrows. Terrera kindly used telekinetic grab to retrieve the arrows to me, so I could re-use them.

Rats were surrounding the island, while the very new people stayed in the RuneScape guide's house, and the seriously injured stayed in the church, where Brother Brace and Lev worked together to heal them. The war felt like it was never going to end. Nevertheless, I continued fighting. Rats were coming from all directions, and I felt stuck there, fighting for my life.

It was growing into early evening (around 6:15pm) and I was exhausted, but my mind forced my body to carry on fighting. The number of rats was not lowering. I felt like all hope was lost, but then I heard a loud roar from the clouds.

The clouds began to spin in one particular spot. Then, a burst of flame came through the cloud whirlpool. The clouds turned white in that area, and then scattered, leaving a large hole. Another burst of flame appeared, and white light came through the hole. More fire came and something swooped down. A white flash flew past me at an amazing speed, nearly blowing me off my feet. The white roaring object blew more flames into the air, and then circled the island. It then hovered overhead, allowing me to catch a quick glimpse of it.

It was a large, white dragon, with large white shiny scales, and white spikes producing from its legs. It had large, friendly blue eyes, and had a man on its back. I could barely see the man though, because a second later the dragon swooped around the island again. There were a lot of flames in the air, and the dragon began breathing fire on the now doomed rats, giant or not. The rats began to die, I saw their bodies shrivel up and burn. They squeaked their last squeaks, and all that was left of them were bones and burnt rat meat.

The other rats were pouncing up onto the dragon, which was a bad mistake. The dragon either burned them in mid-jump, or ate them, crunching up their bones with great relish. The man on the back of the dragon used an extremely long, silver, sparkly sword to easily kill the rats. I heard the quest master gasp "God Sword" next to me. What the God Sword was, I didn't know. But, it sounded like a mighty sword.

The other rats' eyes were turning from the evil unnatural red back to their original, beady, watery yellow. They squeaked, and since they were back to normal, scampered. A heavily bandaged and bleeding Vannaka was rounding up giant rats with great difficulty to take back to his rat pit. The other rats either escaped the merciless, blurry, speedy dragon's fire, or got destroyed by it. After five minutes, the white dragon flew off into the distance, roaring. I sighed with great relief, and went into the church. It was over. It was all over. The other guides were returning to their usual spots, and all was well.

"Well, the rats have gone, and the other people have returned to where they are meant to be," Brother Brace informed me, smiling. "I think it is time that you set off to learn magic and to go onto the mainland before the day is done, and don't forget what has happened. Goodbye." We waved to Brother Brace, and we walked down the path.

It wasn't too far to walk. I could see the thatched cottage from here. I added Osrie1 to my friends list, and buried all of the bones that I had collected off the giant rats. But then, a hiss came from a nearby bush, and a giant rat jumped out, with red eyes. I managed to kill it successfully with help from Osrie1, but that was just a warning that this was not all over. We arrived just outside Terrera's house, and I knocked on the door.

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_I hope that was to your liking. Remember the man on the white dragon, because he is important!_

_Next chapter, it is the end of the beginning, but the beginning of something brand new._

_Until next time, toodles!_


	11. Chapter 11: The Mystery of Magic

_Hello, hello, hello, what's happenin' readers?_

_Welcome to the re-uploaded version of chapter 11. As usual, if you see mistakes in this chapter please point them out to me so I can rectify them._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Jagex, RuneScape, or any of the RuneScape characters. All I own is the plot of this fanfiction and some of the characters in the story. I am not making a financial profit from this story._

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_**Chapter 11: The Mystery of Magic**_

I knocked on the door of the thatched cottage. Terrera opened the door and smiled when he saw us. He gestured for us to come in.

Terrera's cottage was very small. There was a patchwork bed in the corner, next to a door leading to a garden. There was a sink and a stove on the other side of the wall, next to a shelf displaying weird, round-shaped stones with glowing pictures on them. One had a glowing picture of blue weighing scales, similar to the sign of Guthix. There were several others. On the other end, near the door I had just walked through, was a gate, and behind the gate were several small, plump chickens, which were looking at us curiously. Terrera turned to us.

"Well hello again, my friends, welcome to my house. In here I will teach you the wonders of magic and its qualities," Terrera told us. "Magic is a special power, which is similar to prayer. There are good kinds of magic, and bad kinds. It is a difficult skill that takes great practice and knowledge to use. Only accomplished people with their heart in the right place can use magic wisely. There are some spells that are designed to harm (most of the spells do that), others are designed to protect, and a few are designed to teleport yourself, or somebody else at a higher level. But you will need one thing to even begin dreaming about magic… runes.

"Runes are very rare and valuable, and are needed if you intend on using magic. They are special stones that have a special power inside them. As soon as you do a spell, the rune you used will be gone. The energy will have been absorbed, destroying the rock. There are many different kinds of runes. Some are very common but crucial, like the air rune. That rune has the power of air and wind in it. Another type is the mind rune, which has the energy of knowledge inside it, or the body rune, with the power of the body contained within. There are common runes, good runes (like the law rune, or the nature rune), and there are evil, but more rare, runes (like the death rune, or the blood rune, or the chaos rune). Those are only used for evil magic.

"There are different kinds of magic too, like there is common magic that we use every day. There is ancient magic, which has been used since the dawn of time. And there is the most complicated kind of magic ever known to man, called lunar magic. I don't have a clue how to use lunar spells, but it requires doing some kind of quest, and using an extremely rare rune called an astral rune. Here is a spell book of every single spell known so far." Terrera reached into his bag, and he pulled out two very thick books. He handed them to us.

The books were made out of what felt like dragon hide. There was a picture of some kind of book on the front, the words 'magic spell book', and my magic level, which was level one at the moment. I opened the book, and flipped through it.

"Well, let me explain teleportation to you," said Terrera. "It can be very handy when you want to get from one place to another very quickly. It requires a law rune (the blue scale one) and another different rune, depending on where you want to go. At an extremely high level, it is possible for you to teleport to wherever you want to go with just one law rune. There is a teleport that requires no magic level at all; that is called the home teleport, which typically teleports you straight to Lumbridge. It takes a while; it will need recharging for thirty minutes afterwards, and requires a magic wand for you to use it."

He handed us two thin wooden sticks from his bag. I examined the stick closely, not understanding what I was supposed to do with it. I gave it a wave. Red sparks shot out of the end of it. I jumped back in surprise, bumping into Osrie1. Terrera laughed. He showed us a diagram from the book of what do when using the home teleport, and using a useless branch as his wand, showed us. He drew an imaginary circle around him (telling us that a real circle would appear should we attempt it with a wand), sat in the circle, and said the correct spell. He told us that a magic bubble would surround us, and we would be transported to Lumbridge. "A normal teleportation would look completely different," he told us.

"Now we are going to go on to attacking spells," Terrera explained. "Don't forget that you can purchase a staff to either boost magic power, or give you an infinite supply of one particular rune. Here are a small number of runes that you will need to cast the most basic spell in magic, the air strike," he added. He handed me us ten mind runes and ten air runes. I realised what the round-shaped pouch on my bag was for. It was meant for storing runes. "Now, go and practice on those chickens!" he shouted enthusiastically. He started creating a large ball of flames in his hand. "This is using up a mind rune, an air rune, and three fire runes," he told us. "Look at page 54 in your spell book to find out about the spell I'm using." I looked up the spell. It was called fire strike, and it required level 13 in magic to do. I put the book away with my three other books. My book pouch was full. My attention was brought back to magic, because then Terrera sent the fire strike at the poor chickens, incinerating all of them.

"Oh dear, I didn't mean to kill all of them," he said sadly, looking at the toasted and burnt remains of what used to be several chickens. "But they will quickly come back." And sure enough, the chickens reappeared while the burnt, blackened dead chickens disappeared. I took my spell book back out and looked at the air strike page. It clearly told me that level ones at magic could do the spell, I needed a mind rune and an air rune, and that I clearly had to think the incantation 'I summon the air strike'. I closed my eyes, and thought with all my might '_I summon the air strike_'. Nothing happened. The chicken stared at me, nonplussed, as I struggled at doing the spell. Terrera sighed.

"You have to concentrate closely on what you are trying to kill, while thinking the incantation, while willing yourself to do magic. Only then will you succeed," Terrera said firmly. I did that. I thought of the innocent chicken, while I thought the incantation, egging myself on. _You can do it, just think,_ I thought. Then, something white came out of my hands. It felt like a large quantity of air being forced out of my palms. The white ball hit the chicken I was thinking about. The chicken yelped, and looked at me furiously. It charged forward, but was blocked by the gate.

Sneering, I sent another air strike at it. It flew backwards, and hit the wall. It got up, clearly injured, but tried and failed again to peck me. These chickens were clearly very dumb. I sent one last air strike at it. It fell on the floor, and died. I blinked, and then all I could see was some raw chicken, some bones, and five feathers. I saw a nearby chicken explode at Osrie1's spell. Terrera used telekinetic grab to scoop up our winnings, and to drop them in out hands.

"What are the feathers for?" Osrie1 asked. Terrera thought.

"Well, the first thing they are handy for is the fact that they are used for fly-fishing, with a fly-fishing rod. I'm not an expert on fishing, so I can't help you there," he said in an as-a-matter-of-fact voice. "Another thing you can do with them is potion-making, which I will discuss very soon. Third thing is, of course, making pillows! Knit a pillowcase with silk, and then fill it with feathers!" Terrera finished.

We went outside to quickly bury our bones. We went inside, eager to learn more about magic. Terrera laughed as Osrie1 tripped up over his own feet, crashing into me, therefore sending both of us flying onto Terrera's bed.

"Well, you have learnt quite a lot about magic, and you have learnt the basics of it anyway. Now, let me teach you about potion making!" he said, as we rearranged ourselves.

"Potions are used to boost stats, raise health, and many other things. There is countless potion recipes in the world, some of them listed in the backs of your magic books. The most basic and easy potion you can brew, that can be brewed at level one magic, is the health brew. It heals five hit points, and helps you feel better when you are sick. It is a basic remedy that is one of the ingredients used in the extremely complex healing tonic potion. Check your books to see what the ingredients are," he told us. I flipped through the book, coming to the potions section, and checked the health brew recipe.

_Ingredients for health brew potion (put in order)_

_2 litres of hot water_

_A few drops of potion mix_

_7 feathers_

_A set of logs_

_1 Eye of newt_

_2 pieces of cooked meat (any meat will do)_

Osrie1 told Terrera the ingredients. He grinned at us.

"You can get most of that stuff; the only stuff you can't get is the eye of newt, the potion mix, or the hot water. But don't worry, first, before you do anything, I will give you a potion set, and a few ingredients to start you off," he said. He handed us two shiny silver boxes. The boxes contained a medium-sized shiny black cauldron, a jar of newt eyes, several empty vials, a large bottle of thick, blue liquid, a tin of fine purple powder, and a measuring jug. And, might I add, a few of your items will still be there if you die. This includes your wand, your potion-making kit, all of your books, and three other items that you happen to be holding.

"You are always supposed to make potions over a stove, so if you have access to one, brew your potion on it," he informed us.

"What about the hot water?" I asked. Terrera chortled.

"You are meant to get one from a tap!" he laughed, making me blush.

"The blue liquid there is potion mix, used in every single potion," he said. "And the purple powder is grinded Minotaur horns, but that isn't used just yet. If you run out of either of them, go to a shop, they could give you more powder or mix, or eyes."

"OK then, off you go to get the ingredients, and don't come back until you've got everything! And, when you cook the meat, don't use my stove, I want to see your survival skills!" he shouted, laughing kindly as we scampered to get the stuff.

I only had five feathers and one piece of raw chicken, so I decided to go and kill another one to get more items. I concentrated on one chicken, willing myself to kill it with air strike, and finally a gust of powerful wind came out of my hands, and hit the poor chicken. It flew backwards, injured from the impact, and tried unsuccessfully to attack me. I sent another one at it, and it blew to bits. Chicken blood splattered everywhere. I blinked, and my loot was lying there. Lazily, Terrera sent a telekinetic grab at it, scooped it up, and handed it to me. The big purple telekinetic hand disappeared.

I had one ingredient; the feathers. Now I needed the logs and the meat. I stepped outside, and using my shovel, buried the bones. I went up to two trees. I got out my axe, put my shield and sword on the floor, and chopped down both trees. I put one set of logs in my bag, while I kept the other one out. Using my tinderbox, I set the logs on fire. I cooked both pieces of meat over the fire. One of them looked a bit burnt on the edges, but it didn't really matter. It looked crispy, tender, and made me want to eat it, but I resisted the temptation. I stepped back inside.

Osrie1 was fussing over his cauldron and ingredients. I went up to the stove. I turned it up to full pelt, and put the cauldron on. I took out my measuring jug, and filled it up with two litres of hot water. I spilled the water in, and it made a hissing noise. I put in a few drops of potion mix. I put in my seven feathers, and the cauldron bubbled menacingly. I put in the logs, which barely fit in the cauldron, but then dissolved to dust. I unscrewed the jar, and I took out a newt eye. It felt slippery and gross, and it felt like it was looking at me. I dropped it in. I then put in the two pieces of cooked chicken.

The potion hissed and bubbled. It was steadily turning from the mess it was into an orange colour. It hissed one final time, and stopped bubbling. It started smelling like soup. I sniffed it eagerly. Terrera laughed. Then, fireworks popped up around me, indicating that I had raised a magic level. I was getting used to this now.

After Osrie1 had finished brewing his potion, and we both had filled two vials with it, and put everything away, Terrera sat up. "Well done, you two are brilliant at magic for beginners, I must say! I hope you understand everything we have learnt so far. Now, let me ask you a question. Do you want to go to the mainland?" he asked, looking serious. We nodded vigorously. He then smiled. "OK then, good luck, Mainiac97, Osrie1, many thanks for helping us with the rats! I wonder still who that person on the dragon was… the quest master tells me he knows…" he trailed off. "Well, I'll give you a large amount of runes to start you off, and check page 23 on a list of runes." He handed us 36 air runes, 36 mind runes, 17 water runes, 15 fire runes, 21 earth runes, and 6 chaos runes.

"Bye!" he grinned, and I found myself sinking into darkness. I felt myself being compressed, I was flying through darkness, everything around me was blurring, and I could see blurred things rushing right past me. I couldn't breathe, my eyeballs were being forced back into my skull, and I just wanted to get out…

Suddenly, I could breathe again. Everything slowed down, and stopped blurring, and I saw that I was a few feet in the air. I realised I was falling, and before I knew it, I had crashed into a man.

"Hey, watch it there, noob, get off me!" the man bellowed, throwing me off his back. I saw him as looking a bit like Vannaka, except he wore a full helmet. I sat up, stammering my apologies to the man, who grunted, and stormed off. I looked around me. Osrie1 was lying nearby, looking dishevelled, but okay. I realised I would have to get used to teleporting. I looked at my surroundings, and saw the town of Lumbridge for the very first time.

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_...and that concludes chapter 11 and the Tutorial Island arc! _

_My stories are organised in 'arcs', a series of chapters that follow a certain title. The past 11 chapters have been named the Tutorial Island arc for obvious reasons. This chapter ends the Tutorial Island arc and ushers in the Welcome to Lumbridge! arc. _

_Please note that I've taken creative license with the magic skill. I have combined it with the Herblore skill._

_Next time... Mainiac97 explores Lumbridge for the first time._

_Until next time, toodles!_


	12. Chapter 12: The Town of Lumbridge

_Hello, hello, hello, what's happenin' readers?_

_In this chapter, Mainiac97 explores Lumbridge for the first time. This chapter is the beginning of the 'The Town of Lumbridge' arc. I hope you enjoy._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Jagex, RuneScape, or any of the RuneScape characters. All I own is the plot of this fanfiction and some of the characters in the story. I am not making a financial profit from this story._

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_**Chapter 12: The Town of Lumbridge**_

I looked at my surroundings, and saw Lumbridge for the very first time.

It was a town with large, stone buildings. There were cobbled stone paths leading in several directions. There was a nearby large building with a wooden sign on the front that said 'shop'. I could see a large stone bridge. The city was bustling with life; people were going around doing their own thing, while others just stood there, planning the next step. Some were cutting down trees, others were doing trades, a few were sitting down, some were making fires….it was all so busy. Lumbridge seemed to sustain a constant flow of movement. I looked around hopelessly, having no clue whatsoever where to go. A man next to me tapped my shoulder.

This man wore a large blue coat with white cuffs on the end of the sleeves. He wore large, blue, muddy boots, and brown trousers. He had a large bag on his back, which was full of scrolls. He had a large, white beard, and long, white hair that hid most of his facial features. He was holding a long, blue staff, with a large white question mark on the end. He smiled kindly at me.

"Welcome to RuneScape! I am Phileas, the RuneScape guide, and I am here to help you and your friend get accustomed to this world. What would you like to learn?" he asked friendlily.

"I guess my first question is, what do I do first?" I asked him. He chuckled.

"Well, there are many options. My advice would be to explore the town thoroughly, and to do what you want to do," he said. "What did you enjoy doing the most on Tutorial Island?" I thought for a moment.

"Everything, I guess," I mumbled. He smiled.

"Then there is plenty for you to do here, my friend! You can go searching for quests. You could go cooking using the public kitchen and restaurant, or killing, or whatever you want to do," he said. I thought about this.

"Could you give me directions, please?" I asked timidly. He chuckled again.

"At the top of Lumbridge castle there is a bank," he told me. "If you need one, it is only there. If you are searching for fishing spots or mining spots, look no further then over there." He pointed at the other end of the town, past a graveyard. I could just barely see dirty, disgusting, bubbling water. I grimaced, and decided against going there today. "Just around here somewhere is a public furnace, and that building over there is a shop to buy different stuff, including maps, spare potion ingredients, bowls, pots, and many more. You can sell different items to that shop. Also, there is the Lumbridge Paper sold there, if you are looking for recent news. And if you are interested in learning about crafting, then go to the crafting tutor in the castle over there." He pointed at an enormous castle, taller then any other building I had ever seen.

"What creatures here can I kill?" I asked.

"Well, there are some spiders and rats that are annoying, you could try killing them. If you are looking for something more challenging, over the bridge there are some cheeky goblins that cause mayhem. They are quite tough for youngsters like you. You could try killing chickens, but I'm not sure the farmers that own them would like that," he finished. I grinned.

"Thank you, Phileas, we will be on our way now," I said, and he nodded and waved at me. Just as I turned to leave, he tapped my shoulder again. He handed me ten gold pieces. He handed Osrie1 10gp too. I opened my mouth to ask why he gave us money, but he just smiled, and nodded his head towards the shop. Realising why, I thanked him at least a million times, and went off. I put my money in the last pouch of my bag, realising what it was meant for.

I split up with Osrie1 at the bridge, hoping to explore at my own pace. We decided we would meet in the courtyard later. I stepped towards the shop, and went inside.

It was quite packed. The tiles were a crazy paving colour. There were different things for sale, from jugs to newspapers to chocolate bars. There was this large cracked antique vase for sale for a hundred coins. I made a sucking noise between my teeth. That was quite a lot of money.

There were loads of different things for sale. I decided to buy that day's newspaper and a world map. I stepped towards the man at the counter.

"How much do there cost?" I asked him.

"The newspaper costs two gold pieces, and the map costs two gold pieces," he told me. I reached inside my money pouch, and took out 4gp. I handed him the money, while he asked if there was anything I would like to sell. I shook my head, and set off outside the shop.

I explored the town. I looked in the public furnace first. There was a large furnace there (obviously), with a bar mould and an iron ladle, with people jostled around it, making different bars. It was quite like the furnace back in Tutorial Island, looking very hot, like a portal to hell, with white-hot coals tumbling everywhere. I saw fireworks setting off around somebody. There was a man there with a white shirt, dark blue trousers, and was wielding a pickaxe. He wore long purple gloves. I went up to him, and asked where the anvil was. He introduced himself as Feoras the smithing apprentice, and then he replied that the smithing master in Varrock had anvils, not him. I checked Varrock in my world map (which I had stuck in my olive-green book) and saw it was quite a distance away. I didn't feel like going on long journeys at this time, so I decided I would explore Varrock some other day. I left the furnace to explore some more.

I carried on down the path, which was dotted with houses. I saw a farm full of sheep. They looked at me suspiciously, as though I was going to jump in the pen and slaughter them all. I carried on, finding a farm with a few chickens in it. Up ahead I saw a potato field, and a windmill, and a field of cows up ahead. Just past the windmill there was a field of grain. I decided I would explore in more detail later. I went back and past the shop.

There was a church and a graveyard, with a long route past it, but dark was approaching, so I decided against going past there. I saw another shop, except it was called 'Bob's Brilliant Axes'. I didn't need to buy any axes at the moment, so I went past that.

There was a building up ahead that said 'Restaurant'. The door was open up ahead, and a promising smell of food was wafting from it. Deciding to have a meal, I went through it.

It was a smallish restaurant, with a few tables and chairs, a few of them occupied. There were paintings on the wall of windmills, and portraits of different food. The floor had black and white tiles. There was a chef that looked like Lev over a stove. I went up to him. He turned around, and smiled when he saw me.

"Are those stoves public?" I asked him.

"Of course they are! This is a public restaurant, with public stoves, you know!" he laughed. "Now, what can I get you?" I thought for a minute. I hadn't eaten anything but meat that day, so I decided to have something different that was on the menu the chef was handing to me. I decided to have a baked potato with egg and tomato. It cost 2gp. I handed him the money and he handed me the potato in a bowl, smiling.

I sat down, and ate my meal with relish. It was so delicious, the lovely, buttery baked potato, and the heavenly melted cheese mixed with tomato inside. I decided I was going to learn how to cook this when I had enough experience. Once I had finished, I tried to give the bowl back to him, but he just told me to clean it in the fountain and to keep it. I thanked him for my superb meal, and left.

I went to the courtyard. There were two large fountains on two ends of it, with the large castle looming over me. I could just barely see three cannons on the top. The courtyard was dotted with benches, and people were standing around, talking, trading, and doing other things.

It was getting late, and the clock above the castle entrance chimed 8:00pm. I cleaned my bowl out in the nearby fountain, and sat down on a nearby bench. The sun was casting pink streaks across the sky while it set, while the moon and a few stars were visible. Feeling full and tired, I closed my eyes, listening to the sound of chatter, and laughing, and the birds singing. I opened my eyes again, and decided to take out my newspaper, to read it. I took out my newspaper, and read it. This is what is said on the front of the newspaper:

_**Lumbridge Paper 2gp**_

_RATS ATTACK TUTORIAL ISLAND!_

_Eyewitnesses from Karamja and Catherby shores have reported seeing millions of rats with red eyes walking across the water, leaving purple footprints._

_The Lumbridge Paper is baffled as to why rats would attack Tutorial Island, and how they were walking across water. Religious people believe that this was the work of Zamorak._

"_I was training the new people hard on combat," Vannaka the combat tutor reported, "Suddenly, the rat's eyes turned red, and they went insane. They murdered all of the people in the pit, escaped from the pit, and turned on me. I would've been able to kill all of them easy, but they seemed more powerful then usual. I just managed to escape certain death."_

_Thank goodness a mysterious man on a white dragon came and killed all of the rats. All of the tutors reported on how the dragon killed them with a magical fire, and turned the remaining rats back to normal._

_Rats aren't the only thing going mad. As you found out, the zombies have been restless too. You saw the report about poor Miss Jones, just barely alive, telling us about how the zombies started rising in her garden, all heading for her. Her son came outside with their emergency mithril scimitar, and managed to kill them._

_The population is panicking on what creature will go insane next and try to kill us all._

_Written by, Story Rover_

I just gawped at the pages. Not only did the rats go insane, but zombies had been rising. I barely knew zombies as the living dead. I flipped through the rest of the paper. But then, I spotted Osrie1 coming towards me. We agreed to go inside the castle, sleep, and to explore the town a little more the next day. We stepped up the stone steps, and Osrie1 groped the golden handle, and opened the door to Lumbridge Castle.

* * *

_I hope you liked that. Just a quick note, Story Rover is a character inspired by Krall FictionWriter._

_Next time... Mainiac97 and Osrie1 visit a certain castle in a certain town called Lumbridge._

_Until next time, toodles!_


	13. Chapter 13: Lumbridge Castle

_Hello, hello, hello, what's happenin' readers?_

_This chapter follows up from my previous chapter, which was the first chapter of 'The Town of Lumbridge' arc. _

_Disclaimer: I do not own Jagex, RuneScape, or any of the RuneScape characters. All I own is the plot of this fanfiction and some of the characters in the story. I am not making a financial profit from this story._

* * *

_**Chapter 13: Lumbridge Castle**_

Osrie1 swung the door wide open, revealing a two-way corridor.

There was a clean stone floor, with a marvellous red carpet leading in three directions; two in opposite directions, one under a large, shiny oak door. I wasn't sure if we were allowed in the room behind the door, but I decided to risk it anyway. I opened the door, revealing a large dining room, with the red carpet covering the floor completely. There was a large table with at least seventeen chairs placed next to it. There was a large, crackling fireplace, casting shadows across the ceiling, with several fancy vases on top of it, the biggest with a few roses in it. There was a level 34 guard, clad in full steel armour wielding a steel square shield and a steel mace, wearing a steel medium helmet, standing near the fireplace. He spotted us, and frowned.

"Keep in mind, this is Duke Horacio's personal dining room, and the pubic isn't allowed inside, unless they are VIP that have permission to enter. You are not allowed in here, but I will let you off the hook, since you are probably new. But now, you have been warned, and if you are spotted in here again, I will personally kill you," he told us firmly, grabbing us by the shoulder and leading us out the door. I stammered an apology, and he closed the door. I decided to turn left.

We walked down that corridor, but then we spotted a level one rat near the door, scuttling around. I stepped forward, shouted "Die, vermin!" and tried to hit it with my bronze sword, but its eyes suddenly turned red. It stared at me, hissed, and jumped up at my face and grabbed hold of my cheeks with its claws.

"Get off, you stupid rat!" I yelled, dancing about, trying to get the rat off. I was shocked. I thought all of the evil rats were dead. I finally managed to tug it off (scratching my cheeks in the process) and chop it in half with my sword. Its eyes stopped glowing red, and its upper body went flying out the window. I tried to smother my laughing as a female voice cried "Help! There's a dead rat on me!" I carried on walking until the window was out of earshot, and burst into fresh peals of laughter. I saw a door not too far away, with steam coming out from underneath it. We decided to go through the door, me still sniggering. A guard came down the steps, and when he saw me, he glared at me suspiciously. I went through the door with Osrie1.

The room I had just walked into was very steamy. It was a kitchen, with black and white tiles on the floor (like all kitchens I had seen). Two tables, one with a bowl and a pot on it, the other with a clean potato, a sharp knife, and a jug on it, sat in the centre of the room. A sink gleamed in the corner of the room. There was a large stove nearby, but it looked different to all of the other stoves I had seen. It was a bit bigger, the flames coming out of it were more powerful then the average stove, and the letters 'Cook-O-Matic 100' were stamped across the front in large shiny silver letters. There was a nearby shelf full of jars of ingredients. There was yet another chef in this room, washing some plates and bowls in the sink.

This chef looked like all chefs, but a bit different too. He had tanned skin, and wore a very tall chef's hat. He wore a white apron, with black stripes down the sides. He wore chequered trousers, and shiny black buckled boots. He wore large cooking mittens. He saw us, and smiled. I saw a ladder in the corner, near a door that was slightly ajar. I peeped through, and it turned out to be the duke's dining room. I climbed down the ladder.

The basement of the kitchen looked different. It was dank, dirty, and had cobwebs in the corners of it. There were a few dusty tables and chairs, and near the ladder there was a pair of leather boots. There was a sink nearby, with a large table next to it, which had a jug, a bucket, and another knife on it. There were a few rats and spiders in here. Nearby there stood chest which had an aura of some kind of magic about it. There was another table with a cabbage on it. I grimaced. I didn't like cabbage, yuck. There was a pair of leather gloves on the table next to it. I ran towards the gloves, grabbed them, and put them on. They fitted rather comfortably on my hands. Then, on the table, the gloves reappeared. I went back towards the ladder, glad to leave this dusty, musty room.

When I had climbed out, I went back through the door we had come from, out of the kitchen. I saw stone steps leading up, and I spotted a mind rune there on the floor, glowing with its strange circular pattern. I picked it up quickly, looking around, and inserted it in my rune pouch. I climbed the steps, and my bobbing head saw another corridor.

This corridor led straight ahead to another staircase. I hoisted myself up, and clambered up the stairs. I saw an opening that led to a balcony. There were two doors down the side to my right. I went through the first one, nearest to me.

This had taken me into a small bedroom. I stood nervously in the doorway. There was a single bed in the corner, with a white mattress. On the wall was a door leading into the room next to us. There was a small table next to the bed, with several needles, several threads, a ring mould, and a piece of silk. There was a chest in the other corner. There were two people crammed into this small room. One person was wearing mithril armour was making something on a spinning wheel nearby. I saw him frown at us, muttering "noobs," under his breath. The other man was sitting on a small stool, humming to himself.

This man wore a thin blue sleeveless shirt, and white trousers. He wore a long yellow cape, and was holding what looked like a chisel. He wore a rucksack on his back. He waved at us when he saw us, and he then beckoned us in. We walked in this room.

"Hello, I am the crafting tutor, my name is Cadmus. I was originally a tutor from Tutorial Island, but they thought that there were too many tutors in Tutorial Island, so they booted me off, and dumped me in here," he said, scowling "I am here to teach you about crafting.

"There are so many different kinds of ways to craft. You can make jewellery, you can make clothes out of different garments, you can blow glass, you can make pots, and much more! It is one of the most useful skills in RuneScape.

"Now, let me start off by explaining about making clothes and blankets," Cadmus said. "There are many different garments that can be turned into clothes. You need a needle and some threads to even consider stitching clothes. You can buy different colour garments, which you can use to make some clothes. Like, you can use some white material to make a white apron, or a chef's hat with the right level. Or, you could buy silk, which is used to make pillows and blankets. You can buy fur, and turn that into a nice, warm, furry coat, or you could kill an animal for its fur (like, bear fur). You could use leather to make clothes.

"Leather is the most popular item for making clothes. You can make a leather body, or leather gloves, or leather boots, or anything else. These clothes are most commonly used as armour for rangers. But it is quite complicated to get it. First, you have to kill a cow to get the cowhide (although, for stronger clothes/armour, you can also use snake-skin or dragon-hide). Then, you take the hide to a tanner (I think there is a tannery in Al Kharid). Once it is tanned into a piece of leather, use your needle and thread with the leather to knit leather clothes. That could take a while to do, considering how thick leather is," Cadmus said, pausing to stretch back, and grab a needle, a thread, and a piece of silk from the table behind him. After five seconds of disappearing, the items quickly reappeared.

Cadmus put his chisel down on the table. He then held the needle in one hand, and the silk in the other. Using his finger, he pulled out a small strand of thread, and put it through the silk with the needle. He did that again, and again, and again, very quickly, as if he had been crafting for years. But then again, I thought to myself, he probably has. His hands moved quickly and expertly. After a few minutes of stitching, he had created a pillowcase, with a small hole for filling it with feathers.

"That was a basic example of me stitching a pillowcase, but there are many more designs, much more complex then that one," he told us. "Now let me tell you about making jewellery.

"You have to have a mould, to start with. Like, if you want to make a ring (a normal gold ring requires level five crafting), then you need a ring mould. You will also need a bar of either gold or silver, depending on what you would like to make. Use the bar of gold or silver on a furnace, which will melt it. Use the iron ladle to scoop it up, and then to put it in your mould, until it hardens, cools, and turns into a ring. It won't melt if you aren't a high enough level. You can put a sapphire or an emerald in the mould while the gold is cooling, to make a gem ring. You can't just make rings; you can make plenty of things with gold, including amulets, necklaces, and bracelets.

"Well, that basically covers the two most important aspects of crafting, but you can get more information from Phileas, the Lumbridge guide, or from a fellow player. Well, goodnight, my friends!" Cadmus finished, smiling. We thanked him, bade him goodnight, and went through the door near the bed.

We were in a bigger bedroom then the last one. It had a gigantic, comfortable-looking four-poster bed with shiny purple and red mattress. There were several tables in this room, and a large writing desk. There was a glass cabinet against the wall, containing a brilliant, orange shield, with the picture of a yellow claw on it. There was a large wardrobe on the wall opposite. A golden candle stand illuminated the room.

There were two people in this room, again. One person was sitting by the writing desk, writing something down with a quill. This person was wearing blue robes with a black top, and had a very shiny bald head. He barely looked up when we walked in. The second person was pacing around the room, wearing robes of a brilliant gold. He wore a large diamond amulet around his neck, and had a large, bushy, black beard. The man looked baffled, and was fidgeting with a weird object.

This object was grey, but was shaped strangely. It was white on the edges, and had a pattern of wind (like an air rune) on it. The golden-robed man noticed there were two people in his bedroom, and he gave a half-hearted smile.

"Hello adventurers, I am Duke Horacio, who may you be?" the duke asked. I stopped suddenly.

"Sorry sire, I didn't mean to intrude in your room. I am Mainiac97, and this is my friend, Osrie1," I said apologetically, bowing. Osrie1 followed suit, and the man by the desk sniggered. The duke beamed at me.

"It is no problem," he said. "But do you have any idea what this is?" He handed me the strange object. I shook my head.

"Well, maybe you could do me a favour? Consider it a quest," the duke said. "Could you take this to the head wizard of Wizard's Tower?" I took the talisman from his grasp. I considered this. Accepting a quest, from the duke of Lumbridge? That would make me pretty famous. But, knowing the duke, it might be a very hard quest. In the end, I accepted, and my quest journal flew out of my bag, and into my hand. On the first page, it said 'Rune Mysteries'. I looked at the page, baffled. I bade the duke goodnight, and left the room.

I turned round and stepped onto the stone balcony. I saw some cannons and cannonballs, and I sighed. A guard marched down the balcony, watching us. I leant over the wall, looking down. The sun had disappeared, and the moon had taken its place. The stars dotted the skies, but people were still down in the courtyard, chattering and trading. But then, from the other end of the balcony, I heard loud talking.

Two level 3 men in blue shirts and cream trousers walked onto the balcony, talking loudly and laughing. They were holding several empty beer glasses and full beer glasses and one of them still hadn't finished his beer, and was taking hearty swigs of it occasionally. They were stumbling a bit, and were holding identical knifes, which were covered in blood. The guard stepped them.

"I think you have had enough beer, chaps," he said firmly, trying to pull the beer out of their hands. They just swore at him, snorting with laughter. He just got out his steel mace and pointed it at them in a threatening fashion. They got out their knives, and slit his throat. He fell over the balcony, crashing into a bench below. I stared at his mangled body, shocked. They just killed that guard because he tried to confiscate their beer. The men pointed and laughed at us, calling us rude names. Everyone below had stopped what they were doing, and were watching us. I tried to ignore them, and I started walking towards the stairs, but I felt a large fist collide into the side of my face.

I felt a lump raise where one of the men had punched me. He was standing there, roaring with laughter. I waved my sword in his direction. The other man had punched Osrie1, and he'd reacted in a similar way to me. The men stopped laughing, and now they looked quite angry. One of them slashed me with his knife, while the other did the same to Osrie1. The knife caught at my wrist, which started bleeding. I felt myself lose two hit points. I slashed my sword at his shoulder, harming him. He stumbled, and dropped his beer, which smashed, sending shards of glass and specks of beer everywhere.

He howled in agony as the sharp glass punctured his legs, and I felt him lose more hit points. He stabbed me with his knife again, this time in the stomach. I felt weak, but I stabbed the man again, this time through his neck. He used his last morsel of strength to try and strike me again, this time failing (it hit my wooden shield). I hit him one more time in the gut, and he crumpled, and fell on the floor in a puddle of blood. I blinked, and his dead body dissolved into some bones, and money, and a glass of beer. I picked up the lot, and I counted the coins in my hand. He had 16gp on him! That was enough to last me another day! I felt happy.

But, I felt weak, and I was very badly injured. I got out my first-aid kit, and I put a few drops of healing tonic on my wounds. They began to heal. I put a bandage on the slash on my stomach. I gained most of my hit points back. I would take the bandage off in the morning.

I saw Osrie1 was really struggling to fight back. The man was slashing him with his knife at double speed, and I saw that Osrie1 had dropped his sword. I automatically concentrated on the man. I felt the urge to magic him to bits irresistible. A gust of wind flew out of my palm, and hit him on the head. His head exploded, sending him falling to his doom below.

I heard clapping and cheering from below, but I was concentrating on Osrie1. He was badly cut and injured, and was lying on the floor, moaning. I got out my first-aid kit again, and started putting drops of healing tonic on his wounds. I bandaged up the worst of his wounds, and got out his potion-making kit. I got out his health potion. I forced a quantity of the orange liquid down his throat. He breathed heavily, and sat up. He whooped and punched me lightly on the shoulder when he saw the dead man below. We set off towards the stairs, and we climbed up towards the last floor.

There was one open door that seemed a bit crowded. There was a balcony, where a guard prowled. I decided not to go on there. Opposite the door was a wooden bridge, leading over to a ladder, which was guarded by another guard. I went inside the door.

It was a bank. There were a few bank booths there, with kind-looking ladies there. There was a box there, saying "kindly put your useless newspapers in this box". I got out my newspaper, and put it in the box. I went towards an unoccupied lady, typed in my bank PIN, and put my empty bowl, my beer and a vial of health potion in the bank box. I asked the lady at the bank booth where the bridge lead and she replied that it lead to the Lumbridge Hotel, where a person could have a bed for the night, free of charge. I stepped over the bridge.

Osrie1 followed me after he had put his stuff in the bank. The guard let us pass, and told us to tell the hole in the wall "room number 432". We climbed down the ladder.

Down there was nothing except a window, letting some moonlight in. There was a hole where a brick would normally be, and blue light was coming out of it. I put my mouth to the wall, and said 'room number 432'. Suddenly, the hole grew into a door, which stopped when it was big enough. The door had the numbers 432 written on it in shiny gold letters. I opened the door.

We had a simple room with a table, a stool, and two normal beds with blue sheets, a cupboard, a mirror, and a stove. There was a window, overlooking the courtyard, and I realised I was over the arch which lead into the courtyard.

I threw my bag on the table, and so did Osrie1. I settled into a bed, exhausted at the day I had just had.

I had gone through Tutorial Dungeon, learned about quests, banking, and prayer, had fought a large army of rats (which still weren't all dead, seeing the giant rat that had jumped out of the bushes, and the small rat in the castle that attacked me), had learnt all about magic, had turned up in Lumbridge, and had explored the town and the castle, and finally, had a fight with two drunk men. It was my first full day on RuneScape.

I briefly considered RuneScape, and how I appeared in it. So many exciting events had filled my time in RuneScape I'd never given the topic much thought. Where did I come from? Did I come from anywhere specific, or did I simply… appear in RuneScape? What was the meaning behind my existence in RuneScape? I could feel that there was something much more complicated behind my appearance in RuneScape, other than simply appearing. I could sense some memories of life… before RuneScape. They were there; I simply couldn't actually remember them.

I couldn't grasp the subject fully, so I gave up thinking about it. I fell asleep after a few minutes, wondering what I would get up to the next day.

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_Next chapter, Mainiac97 does a classic RuneScape quest._

_Until next time, toodles!_


	14. Chapter 14: The Restless Ghost

_**Chapter 14: The Restless Ghost**_

"Come on, Mainiac97, wake up, and look at the sun outside!" Osrie1 moaned, shaking the lump in the bed that was me. I groaned, and buried myself deeper into my blankets. Osrie1 just grabbed my blanket, and dragged it off the bed. I fell on the floor, on my bum, with a rather painful bump. I got up, grumbling and mumbling. But then I saw outside. Sunshine was pouring through the window, waking me up properly; better then Osrie1's nagging ever would have woken me up. It was a brand new day, with the prospect of more adventures ahead of us. I grabbed my bag, picked up my sword and shield, and set off through the door.

A breeze swept my face and sunshine hit my face through the small window. I climbed up the ladder in front of me, with Osrie1 hot on my feet. The guard saluted us and said "Good morning sirs" as we passed him. The bank was straight in front of us, and it was quite crowded. I went at the back of the shortest queue, and waited my turn to use the bank. A guard came from the balcony to check the bank was in order. He glared at us suspiciously, and went to step back on the balcony.

After a few minutes of waiting, it was my turn to type in my PIN, and to see my bank account pop out in front of me. I felt my money pouch, and took out 16gp. I didn't know whether this was going to be enough for the day, so I took out 5gp from the bank, which left 45gp in my bank account. I felt my rune pouch and realised all I needed were mind runes and air runes for air strike, so I put the rest of my runes that Terrera gave me into the bank. I closed my account, and set off.

I waited patiently for Osrie1 at the front door of the castle. A passing guard waved at me, grinning. The courtyard was bustling with activity, and there were many hearty shouts of "Good morning". I spotted Osrie1 coming through the big front doors. We set off for breakfast in the restaurant.

I turned the corner and saw the big restaurant sign. I saw the graveyard, and decided today I would explore past there. But first, I'd better get some food into my belly, I thought, as my stomach grumbled noisily.

I stepped into the building with Osrie1. It was quite busy, and there were chefs everywhere, cooking food on ranges, and presenting them to the people who ordered them. It was quite different from last night, when there was only one chef. A chef holding a plate of cooked meat ran up to us, and handed us a menu, before rushing off to give the meat to the man who ordered it, nearly dropping it and crashing into a table in the process. I decided to have a meal of fried eggs, fried tomatoes, and cooked meat, while Osrie1 chose the same as me. We ordered our food to a panting chef, who nodded, and ran off to cook the food. We sat down an empty table.

"So….where do you want to go today?" I asked Osrie1 kindly. He wondered this for a moment.

"I was kind of hoping that I could go to practice potion-making today," he said. We decided we would split up and meet up later in the graveyard for lunch. But then, a chef popped up with our meals on plates. I gave my cooked meat, fried egg and fried tomato a sniff. It smelt wonderful. The egg was still sizzling, the tomato looked plump and juicy, and the cooked meat gave a wonderful aroma of expert cooking. I shovelled down my breakfast with great gusto. It all tasted heavenly, and sooner or later I had an empty plate in front of me. I patted my tummy happily. The chef came, and I paid him 4gp for the food. I got up, and set off through the door, and went towards the graveyard, while Osrie1 went the other way.

I opened the creaky, rusty black gate, and stepped into the graveyard. It was made entirely out of compressed earth, making it look like a very dirty brown floor. It was dotted with gravestones, with aged letters on it that I couldn't read. There were mouldy flowers in some gravestones. In the corner was a simple, old-looking concrete building, with a door that was ajar. Next to that was the biggest tree I had ever seen. It was a shiny, splendid tree that looked very firm and strong. But then, I thought glumly, if I couldn't cut down an oak tree, it was very unlikely that I could cut down this. I saw a large church similar to tutorial church next to the graveyard, except this one was bigger. There was a door leading into the church from the graveyard. I opened this door, and stepped inside the church.

The floor was encrusted with large silver tiles. There was an enormous pipe organ on the other side of the church, along with a large stand for the father to stand in. There was a father in long, grey robes standing in there, reading a RuneScape bible. He looked a bit agitated. There were several empty wooden seats in the back, where the people came for sermons. There was a large altar in front of the stand. There were two ladders leading up to a second floor, which I could see. There were a few VIP seats up there, and several large shelves full of bibles. There was a man in long black robes that was none other but Ilookgood99. I went up to the father in the stand. He smiled sadly at me.

"What is the matter? You seem upset," I said.

"Yes, I am upset, young one. My name is Father Aereck, and I look after this church, which has existed for over 230 years. I am upset because there is a ghost haunting the coffin room, and I don't know how to get rid of him. The only person that can get rid of the ghost is my friend who lives in the Lumbridge swamp, Father Uhrney, who is currently living there as a hermit. Could you do me a favour, and could you talk to father Uhrney and ask him how to get rid of the ghost?" he asked me. I thought about it for a moment. In the end, I nodded. He beamed at me.

"Thank you, my friend!! If you get rid of that ghost, I will be most grateful!" Father Aereck cried joyfully. Then, my quest journal flew out of my bag, and it flipped automatically to the second page, where it said 'The Restless Ghost'. I stepped out of the church, and back into the graveyard.

I looked at the coffin room, and I decided to have a look inside to make sure there really was a ghost in there. I opened the door which creaked noisily. It was an ordinary concrete building, which had an oil lamp dangling from the ceiling. There was a simple, rotting wooden coffin in the middle of the room. I decided to open the coffin. I opened up the lid, which creaked open. There was a skeleton lying in the coffin, but the skeleton had no skull. But then, a lot of white light illuminated the room, and stopped abruptly. There was a ghost floating in the corner of the room.

This ghost was completely transparent (obviously). It wore a large hat with a peacock feather on the top, and the ghost wore a very important-looking suit.

"Woooooooooo...." the ghost said, looking at me, his expression hard to read. I jumped about a foot in the air, screamed, and ran out the door.

I had run past the restaurant, past Bob's axe shop, and I paused, panting, checking over my shoulder to make sure the ghost wasn't following me. I stepped back cautiously, and I peeped back into the coffin room. The coffin was closed, and the ghost was nowhere in sight. I sighed. I went back outside, and pas the other gate, into the stretch of land in front of me.

I could see a mine in the distance. People were chopping away at rocks in it. Nearby, there were people over the water, fishing. There was a man sitting on a chair there, knitting fishing nets. Next to me I smelt a terrible smell of what smelt like gas. I turned around, and saw what I guessed was the Lumbridge swamp.

There were dark trees surrounding several pools of polluted green water. There were strange green plants growing everywhere. There were bubbles rising in the water, releasing a terrible stench when popping. There were a few giant level 3 and 6 rats nearby, squeaking loudly and casting curious glances at me every now and then.

Trying to ignore the terrible smell, or the staring rats, I continued through the swamp. I could see a small wooden house in the distance, with moss growing all over it. I guessed this was the house of Father Uhrney. I stepped towards the front door, and I knocked.

"Who dares interrupt my meditation? This better be important!!" I heard a grumpy voice say from the other side. The door opened.

Father Uhrney wore long, grey robes, and had a bushy white moustache and bushy white hair. He wasn't wearing any shoes. Wrinkles creased his entire face. He glared at me.

"Go away, I'm meditating!!" he shouted.

"Father Aereck sent me, sir. He has a ghost haunting his coffin room," I said. He sighed, and reluctantly let me pass him into his house.

The house had a smell of tree sap and brand new paper in it. There were bookshelves on the wall. There was a small wooden table and chair in the corner, with a blank piece of parchment on it, and a small bottle of ink, with a feather in it. There was a pair of black shoes in the corner, with a cupboard. There was a very small patchwork bed in the other corner. There was a bible open on the rug on the floor. There was a wooden box by the bed. Father Uhrney leered at me, and shut the door.

"So, that Father Aereck is having problems with ghosts already, and is asking a new person to pass a message to me, is he? He isn't a very good priest if he is having these problems. I don't know why they replaced me with him. But I guess I have to help him if there is a ghost in his coffin room.

"The first step to getting rid of a ghost is to know why it still wanders the earth, restless. The only way to communicate to ghost and to find that out is by this." Father Uhrney reached over to the wooden box by his bed, and opened it.

He got out a strange amulet. It had a red ribbon to put around somebody's neck. It was a ghostly white spiky amulet, with a curvy line in the middle. He handed me the amulet.

"When you wear that, it allows you to speak to ghosts. That is called the Ghost speak amulet," he told me. He held open the door. I took off my prayer amulet, put it in my bag, and put on the ghost speak amulet. I hesitated before stepping out, earning me a kick up the bum from Uhrney, sending me flying out the door and colliding with a free. Grumbling, rubbing my sore backside, I stepped out of the swamp and back into the graveyard.

I entered the coffin room. I stepped bravely towards the coffin, and I opened the lid with a loud creak. A glow of white light filled the room, and once again, the coffin was open to reveal a headless skeleton, and the ghost was standing there, looking grumpy.

"Hello ghost, how are you?" I asked him, starting to feel nervous.

"Not very good," he said miserably.

"Why is that?" I replied.

"You can understand me? You are the only person who has been able to know what I am saying!!" he said, staring at me incredulously.

"The reasons I can understand you is because I am wearing this amulet of ghost speak. Now, let's go back to the subject. What is the matter?" I said. He sighed.

"Oh, that is why. Well, the reason I am sad is because I cannot pass on to the afterlife. I am doomed to walk around the earth for all eternity until my skull is returned to the coffin," he said, looking very sad indeed.

"Where is the skull?" I asked.

"Some evil wizards from the wizard's tower came and stole my skull for an evil spell they planned to make. They aren't the only things that have been acting unusual lately. Have you heard about the army of rats heading towards Tutorial Island? Or have you heard of the zombies acting strange? The rats have been going wild, I've seen their behaviour. There are rats in here, and I've seen their eyes glow red. A rat attacked a young boy this morning; it should be in the newspaper later today. He was attacked by a few rats, and they overpowered him, and killed him. Of course, he came back later, and explained to newspaper reporters how the rat's eyes were red, and how they were hissing strangely, and how they jumped up on him and ripped his face to shreds.

"And I got a psychic message from a fellow ghost in Draynor Manor. He explained that he and his fellow ghosts were getting messages from the unknown, telling them to kill humans. I have been getting them too, but I am not an evil spirit, so I have been able to resist the urge to kill. Any human that steps foot in the manor doesn't come back alive, but that is to be expected, knowing what kind of…erm….creatures that lurk in there," he said, looking uncomfortable. I listened to him patiently.

"So, how do I get your skull back?" I asked. He smiled.

"Well, you have to find out where they've hidden the skull first. Check all of the floors thoroughly. The wizard's tower has many floors. Check them all. Once you have it, just pop it where the skull is meant to be in my coffin. Then, I can rest in peace. Thank you, kind adventurer, for offering to help me. Just beware; the dark wizards need that skull for something. They won't give it back without a fight. They would have put guard on the skull, and they wouldn't have just let it lay there, defenceless. They must have guessed my spirit would become restless once the skull was in their grasp. Beware," he said wisely. I nodded, waved, and set off to meet Osrie1.

I waited for about ten minutes before Osrie1 came.

"Hi," he said cheerfully when he saw me. "I have been practicing potion-making, and I have raised another magic level," he said. I smiled at him.

"Well, I have been helping a priest in distress," I said proudly. I repeated what happened to me to Osrie1.

"Well, it's lunchtime now. Are we going to the restaurant now to eat?" he asked. I looked down the path. I saw the mine, where people were working hard mining ore. And I saw some people fishing down on the lake. Across the lake I saw some sandy dunes, and a cactus. Then an idea struck me.

"Fancy shrimp for lunch?" I asked lightly. He nodded, and I pointed to the fishing spots. Comprehension dawned on his freckled face. We walked towards the fishing spots, getting our nets out ready.


	15. Chapter 15: The Goblins and the Golem

_**Chapter 15: The Goblins and the Golem **_

I and Osrie1 walked down the stone path that led out of Lumbridge, heading towards the fishing spots for a light lunch. I sat down by a sparkling area by the water. I could see fish swimming in the water. My stomach grumbled noisily. I got out my net, and I sunk it deep in the sparkly water. After waiting a few moments, nothing happened. I tried again. Nothing happened. I went to try again, but Osrie1 tapped my shoulder.

Then, I heard a loud, grunting sound. Something small and green was walking down the pathway, and passing people were staring at it incredulously. The fishers stopped fishing, and sat up to watch the goblin too. I looked up at the goblin, which was now standing next to me.

It was a head smaller then me, and was extremely smelly. It was a level three goblin. It smelt like it had been rolling in cow manure and hadn't bothered to wash. It wore a few small rags over most of its body, and it was holding a small, bloodied knife. It looked at me with its beady yellow eyes. It examined me, and stepped forwards towards me.

"You give me money, human!!" the goblin grunted, brandishing his knife. I slashed my sword at him. Blood spurted everywhere from his wound. The goblin roared, running towards me with his knife. I kicked him squarely in the stomach, and he went flying a few feet back, landing on his back. I laughed. He was only a goblin, I could kill him easily. At least the men I fought last night had brains. This goblin was so thick he didn't have enough brains to fill an eggcup, I thought savagely. How dare he attempt to steal my money!

The goblin sat up, and bit my ankle. I jumped up and down with pain. My ankle was bleeding! I grabbed him, and slashed my sword at him again. He jumped up again, meaning to scratch at my face, but I sent the sword deep into his gut. His body fell, limp, in my arms, and I thought he was dead.

But then the goblin sat up, roared with anguish, and pounced on me. I struggled with the goblin, who was trying to reach my money pouch. I kicked him in the chest again, sending him tumbling into the murky swamp waters. The water bubbled for a moment, and then stopped bubbling.

I turned around, thinking he had suffocated in the thick, filthy waters, and started walking back to my fishing spot, but then I heard something splash out of the water behind me. The nearby rats squealed with fright. I turned around, and was face-to-face with the furious goblin. His eyes had turned red.

"How dare thee attempt to slaughter an innocent goblin?!" the goblin shouted, sounding intelligent, quite unlike the idiotic goblin I had encountered a few minutes ago. His jaw twitched. "Now, give me the money, human, or I shall be forced to get reinforcements to kill you," he growled, giving me a menacing stare. He had changed. But I thought back to the rats on Tutorial Island. Something strange was happening to these creatures. I shook my head, and refused to give him the money. He laughed. It was a high, cold laugh, that didn't belong to the goblin. He closed his eyes, and a red-like glow came around him, illuminating the dark and murky swamp with red light.

Then, suddenly, the nearby giant rats' eyes were red. They hissed, and stepped towards me. Then, out of the clearing, in the distance, I saw about half a dozen red-eyed goblins coming towards me, cracking their knuckles. They were cornering me. Then, a lot of small rats bustled around my ankles, attempting to jump on my face.

The goblins charged into my legs, buckling them, and making me fall on my back. The rats seized this opportunity, and they jumped on my face, ripping at the flesh. The goblins were hitting or stabbing me with little green fists or knives. I felt myself losing several hit points. I felt myself dying. I was doomed. My first day on RuneScape, and I had to die in it.

But then there was a large blast of light, and the goblins and rats were thrown off their feet. I saw their eyes turn back to normal. The goblins threw the person who cast the ball of light a final terrified look, and then ran, tripping up and bumping into each other on the way. The rats were already scuttling back to their hidey-holes. I saw the figure go up to me. He was wearing long, black priest robes. The person that saved my life was Ilookgood99.

"Thank you," I croaked.

"Don't mention it," Ilookgood99 grumbled. "Ray of Health!!" he then shouted, and a blue ray came out of his hands. The healing prayer hit me in the chest, and I felt all of my wounds heal, and all of my hit points come back. Ilookgoood99 had revived me.

I started thanking him madly, but a look of shock came across his face.

"Mainiac97!! So I saved you!!" he gasped. But then his astonishment turned to curiosity. He tried looking over my shoulder.

"What's the matter?" I asked, looking behind me.

"It's nothing, nothing. But, oh my goodness, it can't be…..that is a bad omen…." Ilookgood99 said, looking scared. I thought he was very secretive, and strange.

"What is the matter?" I asked again impatiently.

"It's just…..oh Mainiac97, there is something on your back!!" he shouted, terrified. I yelped, and reached out to my back. I found there was nothing there.

I turned back around, but Ilookgood99 wasn't there. I stamped my foot in frustration. He was keeping something from me. Or was he just messing around? I didn't know, and frankly, I didn't care. Ilookgood99 was mad to think there was something on my back when there wasn't, and he wasn't telling me much. 'Bad omen', what did he mean by that? But I kept looking over my shoulder at my back, just to check.

I continued fishing. I put the net in, and pulled it out, several times it was empty. But, finally, I pulled the net out of the sparkly water, and there were several shrimps lying there. I put the shrimps on the floor next to me, and I carried on fishing. I had gotten an appetite from the morning's work (running around, giving pleas of help, talking to ghosts). Now, it was afternoon, and I was starving.

I continued fishing, when I managed to get more shrimp. But then, nearby, next to Osrie1, there was a large puff of smoke. When all of the smoke cleared, there stood a lady next to Osrie1.

This lady wore a plain cream skirt and a plain cream shirt. She wore pink, high-heeled shoes, and was holding out a tray of what looked like food.

"Sandwiches Osrie1!" she trilled cheerfully. "Gee, you look starved. Tell you what, have a meat pie on me!" she continued happily, ignoring me. "Anything else you want to buy will have to be paid for, mind." He picked up a pie, looking at it happily. She smiled at him.

"Can I buy something please?" I asked hopefully, stepping forward. She continued to ignore me.

"Anything else?" she asked him kindly. He shook his head. "Hope that fills you up!" she said, before disappearing with another puff of smoke. He beamed at the lukewarm meat pie before him. I laughed feebly as he sniffed his favourite snack eagerly, disappointment filling me like a contagious gas.

"Here, take these," he said, handing me his shrimp. I sighed, watching him jealously eat his pie, before setting off to cut down a nearby tree. I got out my bronze axe, and started chopping at it. When it finally came crashing down, I chopped it up into logs, before setting them on fire with my tinderbox. I pulled out my cooking stick, and then I poked the raw shrimp on the end of the stick, and put them in the fire.

"I see you've just came across random events," I heard a voice say next to me. I yelped, nearly dropped my shrimp in the flames, and turned around to face the person. I saw Phileas the Lumbridge tutor standing there, smiling at me.

"Random Events are happenings that happen randomly, as you saw," he said. "The Sandwich Lady ignored you because you weren't the person she had come to sell to. There are good random events, and bad ones. There are good ones that can turn to bad ones if you ignore it. You can get things attacking you because you did something to anger them (my least favourite one is the rock golem). I have a friend called the mysterious old man, but I never really understand him, and what he is always up to. I just accept his strange little box, and I take the prize. Just go along with them, or you will regret not going along with them (I went into a fight with a drunken dwarf once because I refused to accept his kebab and beer). You can be rewarded for paying attention to what happens. There are two random events you might want to watch out for-Evil Bob, or the evil chicken.

"Evil Bob is a cat. He is an evil cat, as his name suggests. He takes random people away to his island, or his prison, on ScapeRune, the opposite world to RuneScape. The evil chicken, on the other hand, pops up out of nowhere, and kills whoever he is supposed to kill. He never stops unless he has heartlessly slaughtered his victim. And he might look like a normal chicken, but trust me, he has evil powers that humans do not have. These events can turn dangerous if you are not careful. I hope that explains everything." He smiled at me, and he walked away.

Felling reassured that I knew a bit more about Random Events, and I knew what to expect next time, I ate my lunch of fried shrimp. I enjoyed the wonderful taste of heavenly, fat, juicy shrimp. After I finished my lunch, I licked my fingers happily, and put away my net, my axe, my tinderbox, and my cooking stick. I looked at the mine, and the miners.

I decided to raise my mining level, and to get some bronze bars, so I took out my pickaxe, and set off towards the mine. I found some rocks with orange stripes in them and other rocks with silver stripes in them. My olive-green book confirmed that they were copper and tin rocks. I got my pickaxe at the ready, and I swung it with all of my might at a copper rock. It chipped off a large piece of the rock. I sighed, and swung my axe at it again. I knocked off another chunk of rock. I hit it several more times, and then, finally, some small orange rocks fell out. I scooped up my copper ore, and put it in my bag. I hit another copper rock with my pickaxe.

I got about five more sets of copper, and I was tired after all of that hard work. I sat down next to a tin rock, claiming it. A level 34 woman wearing steel armour and holding a mithril pickaxe went up to a tin rock nearby. She waved at me, and smiled. I smiled back at her. But then, suddenly, her smile faltered.

"What is the matter?" I asked.

"Nothing, it's just…." She stammered, and then stopped in mid-sentence.

"What?" I asked impatiently.

"Well….oh my goodness, there is something on your back!!" she screamed, running up the path, her bag askew, her mithril pickaxe lying there abandoned. I tried, and failed, to pick it up. Then, I felt it. I felt movement on my back. I looked at my back, terrified, but saw nothing. I turned back around, but then I heard a quiet, screechy kind of noise on my back, with more movement. I looked at my back, finding nothing. I waited for a few minutes, but nothing else came. I sighed, and sat up to mine some tin.

I hit a tin rock several times until some tin ore fell out of the rock. I got five more tin ore, and I went towards another tin rock, hoping to get six tin and copper to make six bronze bars. I hit the rock several times, sending dirt flying everywhere. But then, the rock crumpled into a dust-like substance. I groaned with disappointment. Then, the rock dust turned itself into the shape of a hand made out of dust, floating in thin air. It collected together, and turned into a proper solid hand-shaped rock.

Then, dust and dirt and rocks flew from the ground to make the hand grow into an arm. Then, it started sucking up rocks from the cliffs, sometimes ripping out great chunks of rock from the cliff. A tornado of dust, dirt and rocks flew from their natural positions, and after some time there was an enormous rock arm floating in thin air. It was gigantic-almost the same size as a yew tree. Then, nearby rocks were uprooted from their positions, much to the annoyance of the other miners. Great chunks of rock flew everywhere, and this tornado of rock nearly blew me off my feet.

After a few minutes of the rock flying towards the arm, the dust cleared, and then there was an enormous, colossal rock golem standing there. He was roughly the same size as Lumbridge Castle, with knuckles as big as boulders. The golem was level 63, and it was glaring at everyone suspiciously. I realised instantly why people hated this random event so much.

"Who dares destroy the rocks of my ancestors? Who has enough cheek to besmirch my fathers' remains?" the huge golem roared thunderously, making the floor rattle. Everyone in the mine pointed at me. The golem raised his hand, and hit me, sending me flying.

Pain like no other kind of pain filled my body. The golem had just punched me with his rock fist, and I landed with a painful crash into a nearby tree, that collapsed on top of me at having something thrown at it with such force. I sat up, groaning, and the next thing I saw was the enormous golem marching at me, making the floor shudder with every step. The golem picked me up, and it threw me on the floor at its feet in a heap.

But I had no time to recover, because the angry golem was reaching down to grab me again. I threw my pickaxe at him as a last-ditch attempt to protect myself from being crushed. It hit the golem squarely in the chest, and a chunk of his chest fell out. My pickaxe fell to the floor, and the golem stepped towards me, grinning evilly.

"SHIT!!" I bellowed, stepping back. His fist was hovering right over me, and he was about to put it down on my head, but I dodged the fist, and scuttled under its legs. It let out a roar of fury, and went towards me, when an arrow collided with its leg. He looked furiously at the large hole in its leg, and turned to see who hit him with the arrow, but another arrow went flying into its arm. It roared again, this time out of pain, and I got out my own bow and arrow. I aimed a bow at its head, and shot.

This arrow didn't have such a strong impact as the other arrows did, but he stepped back, which was a bad mistake. He had stepped into a large swamp lake with its polluted water, and a sickening squelch told me his leg was jammed. I got my pickaxe, I put away my bow and arrow, and I started hitting the golem's leg with it. Large chunks of rock were flying everywhere, and were floating back to its original position in the mines. Some other miners, including Osrie1 came, and started pecking away at the golem's leg with their pickaxes. Another arrow flew over my head and into the golem's leg, making a large hole in there. The arrow-shooter turned out to be a Lumbridge guard, who winked at me, threw me a orange health potion, and stepped back into the graveyard.

The golem was shouting at the miners below him, but he was quite powerless to do anything, since his leg was so tightly wedged into the swamp. His other leg couldn't reach to the gaggle of miners at his leg. His arms were busy waving around, trying to prevent him from falling, and him losing his leg. He was screaming with anger and pain, and we were causing a lot of damage to his leg.

After at least 20 minutes of mining the screaming golem's leg, it fell over, with his foot still tightly stuck in the swamp. With the foot parted from its owner, it turned to dust, and flew back to the mine, turning into a tin rock. The golem stumbled about, and fell into the river with a rumble that shook the town like an earthquake. The golem got very wet, and it started crumbling. It shook a damp fist furiously at me, which then crumbled and turned to dust. The damp rock golem cracked, and fell apart, killing the rock golem once and for all. The remains floated in the air, and went back to its original spot in the mine.

I put my pickaxe back into my bag, and waving at the other miners, I stepped back into town, deciding to do a few chores, and to raise a few levels.


	16. Chapter 16: The Enemy and the Thief

_**Chapter 16: The Enemy and the Thief**_

I was walking through Lumbridge, keen to learn more about RuneScape. I was eager to find more skills and do a few more things. Duke Horacio waved at me as I passed him in the busy street. Osrie1 wished to stay behind, mining. I already had my fair share of tin and copper ore in my bag, and I planned to smelt it in the public furnace later. For now though, I decided to explore in the shop up ahead, and to go even further, to explore a few more buildings.

I stepped in the Lumbridge shop, looking automatically up at the newspaper stands to check whether today's issue of the Lumbridge Paper had been published. All that was on there was a large sign tacked up on the top shelf saying 'Come back later tonight for the latest Lumbridge Paper!' I looked at the crazy-paving tiles sadly. I decided to set off into the shop to look at the merchandise on the shelves.

I took out the amount of money I had out of my money pouch. I had 17gp on me. I used to have 21gp, but I spent 4gp on my cooked breakfast. And it was quite cheap for its quality, I thought.

I saw a large array of items stacked all over the shop. The cracked, but very pretty vase that cost 100gp was still there. A man in white robes was examining it curiously. That man looked familiar, I was sure I had met him before. But I pushed the thought out of my head. There was a big pile of what looked like bones on a nearby shelf. One set of bones cost 6gp. I grimaced at the expensive bones.

There was a tiny bottle of black, swirling stuff, that didn't look like liquid, but didn't look like gas either. Strange black shapes were moving about in the strange substance, disappearing seconds later. It was labelled 'unknown substance, very rare' and I nearly screamed at the price tag. I never even dreamed that something could be so expensive!! It cost something like 32mil!!

I was still thinking about the little bottle of unknown substance that was so expensive when I passed something that caught my eye. It was a large box labelled 'seeds' in a corner of the shop. Inside, there were smaller boxes, with different labels and price tags on them (like one was called 'watermelon seeds' and it cost 24gp for each seed). I wasn't sure why the shop would be selling seeds. But then, a strange man passed me.

This man wore silky, black clothing, and he wore a long, black cape, and a black hood. He wore black boots, and had a strange black mask that covered around his eyes, so I could only see the piercing greens of them. He eyed me suspiciously, and then he picked up a nearby bar of silver with a price tag of 36gp on it, and headed towards the door. I followed him.

"Excuse me, but you didn't pay for that silver," I said anxiously. He just shot me a filthy look.

"Of course I didn't pay for it, that isn't the point of stealing!!" he said in a wheezy whisper. "I am the master thief, and I am level 132 in thievery." I gawped at him.

"I didn't know that there was such a skill," I mumbled. He laughed unkindly at me.

"Well, you were wrong!!! If you want more information, I would ask Phileas. He used to be quite a high level in thievery in his youth," wheezed the master thief, slipping out of sight in a narrow alley. He blended in with the shadows, and I saw him no more.

I stepped towards the kindly man giving advice to a brand new person, hardly daring to believe that he used to steal when he was young. He waved a new person off, who stepped nervously towards the castle. I tapped him on the back. He turned around, and he beamed when he saw me.

"Mainiac97!! How brilliant it is to see you, my friend!! What can I help you with, then? How are you managing?" he grinned.

"Hi, I am managing fine, thank you. I want to ask you something, though-can you explain more about the thieving skill?" I asked him, trying to keep my voice balanced. His grin disappeared instantly. He coughed, and started fiddling with his staff with a large question mark on it.

"The last person who asked me that turned into the most wanted man in the world. He stole a rare and valuable bank medallion, which made him extremely wanted. They placed a 22mil price on his head. He was the most wanted person in RuneScape at the time. He stole everything he could get his hands on, and his thieving level rose higher and higher, and he stole more valuable objects….the cycle never ended. But then, a plucky adventurer named Zezima had a fight with him, and he won. The person was resigned to hiding, waiting for his long-lost master, stealing every day objects to survive. But I always feel guilty for giving him the secret of thieving." He sighed unhappily, looking deep into my blue eyes.

"He had a charm around him. I felt it was best I gave him the right information, since he was a curious young lad. But he double-crossed me, and used the wretched skill for his own need. He became rich, and he grew even richer by stealing even more. I once was good in the skill, before I realised how terrible it was." He looked sadly into my eyes.

"What was the thief's name?" I asked.

"Oh, his name was James, and about telling you about the skill, I'm afraid I won't. You might turn out just like James," Phileas said simply, and walked off, leaving me in my spot, thunderstruck.

Was it the James I had met on Tutorial Island? The one who tried to rob the bank, the one who knew terrible, evil magic? My head swam with terrible ideas, before I came to earth. There were a lot of James's in the world, maybe it was a different one. I could only guess. And I was disappointed. I wanted to find out about thieving, and I didn't want to use it. Sweeping these thoughts out of my head, I stepped past the shop, thinking I would go back in to buy the paper later that evening.

I saw the road led four ways. The first way was the one I had come from. The second one led towards a small, wooden bridge that led over the river. The third one was the one straight ahead that led to the windmill, and the farm full of sheep. And the last one was the one to my left that led towards a mud path. I saw some goblins lolling around the mud path, leering at people who passed, sometimes attacking a small and weak-looking person. I decided to go to the big building straight ahead of me. The door was ajar, and I crept inside.

I saw a big bustle of commotion. There were several punching bags nearby. People were hitting the brown ones with swords, while others punched them. On the blue bags people were casting spells at it. On the far end there were large targets, with people standing behind a red line, and shooting arrows at the targets. The floor was made of marble, and there were nearby chairs, where people sat, rubbing sweat off their heads, wiping them with their cloths.

There was a nearby man who was hitting the punching bag with such force that it was ripping up. The man wore fantastic armour-armour that looked like it had come straight from hell. He wore a red helmet with horns coming out of the top, and a red chain body that had smaller horns coming out of the sides. His red, spiky sword and a large orange shield with a claw pattern on it lay next to him, forgotten. I saw the same shield in the duke's room!! He hit the punch bag with such force it buckled up, and fell of its rope that bound it to the ceiling. It collapsed, and the man smiled. He picked up his shield and his sword, and set off towards the door. I stopped him by standing in his way.

"Get out of the way, little noob, or I shall slit your throat with this sword," the man said quietly.

"What is the name of that red armour?" I asked quietly. His eyes narrowed.

"It is called dragon armour, metal designed to protect yourself from dragon fire. It isn't as if you are ever going to wear it," the man sniggered. I was offended.

"Maybe I'll wear it when I'm as strong as you!!" I retorted. He just laughed loudly.

"My name is Madrey1, by the way. And I think you should get out of my way, little noob," he said, grabbing me by the scruff of the neck, and throwing me head-first into a tree.

I saw him walk down the wooden bridge, round the corner and out of sight. I felt anger pulse through my heart. He was so obnoxious, and just because he had flashy dragon armour that didn't mean he could bully me!! But then, I heard a very loud roar. The ground shook, and nearby people started running.

The roar seemed to have come from a cellar in a nearby house. The cellar reminded me of the entrance to tutorial dungeon from the quest master's house. The door was open, and a level 4 man was standing outside, looking terrified. I stepped towards the cellar, and I asked the man if I could go in. He nodded frantically, and ran off in the direction of the castle. I started climbing down the wooden ladder, scared and curious what I would find at the bottom.


	17. Chapter 17: Doom in the Cellar

_**Chapter 17: Doom in the Cellar**_

I climbed down the ladder, feeling fear mix up with curiosity. What was down in the deep dungeon? What was causing such a racket? Was it safe to go down? All these questions exploded out into my head. The only way that I would find out the answers was to go down into the dungeon, so I climbed down to the bottom, feeling my feet land on concrete. I looked up, and saw a cellar.

There were large shelves on the walls. On the shelves there were large crates and boxes and barrels. There were several large barrels on the dirty concrete floor full of rainwater. There was a rusty old cauldron and a broom standing in the corner. One of the walls on the far end of the cellar had collapsed, because there was a lot of debris and bricks there. Past the collapsed wall there was a long cavern. Nearby, there was a stool in front of a large fire that crackled merrily; casting shadows across the wall and making the cellar seem ten times spookier. There was a man sitting on the stool.

The man wore shiny white armour, and was holding a bluish kind of sword and a large orange shield with a claw pattern on it-the same shield that Madrey1 and Duke Horacio had. He had a mop of brown hair, and blue eyes that twinkled. He had shadows under his eyes, and he looked exhausted. He held a white full helmet under his arm. He looked up and jumped when he saw me. When he realised who it was, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"You frightened me!! Well hello there, I am Sir Vant, and I am a white knight of Falador. And you are?" he asked kindly.

"My name is Mainiac97, and what are you doing down here? I heard a roar and I came down to investigate," I said. He laughed half-heartedly.

"There is a dragon down here at the farthest end. But this isn't any kind of dragon, you see-this dragon has three heads. Something disturbed it, and it came charging down this cave, and what did it see? It saw a brick wall. So, it destroyed the wall, while the miss of the house was down here, sorting out the boxes. The dragon is level 249, and she was only level 3. The dragon killed her. Her cowardly husband called for me as I was passing on my way to Falador, told me about the dragon, and now I think he has fled." I fell back in shock. There was a three-headed dragon down here? Oh my goodness, this dragon would cause havoc if it came up to the surface!!

There was a loud rumble of approaching enormous footsteps, and another roar that shook the ground. Sir Vant sat up, and stepped towards the cave entrance. He stepped past the bricks, and a large burst of flames came down the corridor. Sir Vant held up his orange shield, and the fire hit the shield, but didn't affect him. When the flames cleared, the shield and Sir Vant were unaffected. Then, another roar came, and the dragon came crashing down the cave towards Sir Vant.

The dragon had gigantic green scales that shone like steel, and looked as hard. It had large, leathery green scaly wings. It had a long, large, spiky tail that thrashed around, destroying anything that came into contact with it. It had three long, green, scaly necks, and three large, roaring faces. It had teeth like swords, and had angry red eyes. It was thrashing around furiously. It roared again, shaking the entire Lumbridge area.

Sir Vant jumped up, and then swung his strange sword towards the dragon's body. The dragon roared once again, and swung its tail right into Sir Vant, knocking him off his feet. Sir Vant went crashing into a shelf. He threw the barrel of rainwater at the dragon's middle face, which roared, spluttering. It breathed fire at Sir Vant, who managed to put the orange shield in front of him just in time. His armour had melted in one spot from the heat. Sir Vant swung his sword at the dragon's left face, hitting it in the neck. That face bit at Sir Vant, nearly ripping off his arm. The dragon breathed a wave of fire at Sir Vant, who managed to glance it away with his shield.

The dragon then spotted me, and stepped towards me, roaring. Sir Vant yelled "OH NO YOU DON'T!!" and ran towards the dragon, slashing at its back with his sword. The dragon roared and stamped his feet, causing rocks to fall from the ceiling. A large boulder fell and hit the dragon's middle face, which roared with pain. It flew off, its wings destroying a large amount of shelves. It flew back to the end of the cave, and was silent.

"Is it dead?" I asked, after ten minutes of silence.

"No, it is only resting," Sir Vant groaned, sitting back on a wooden crate, rubbing his sore burn where the dragon breathed fire at. "Say, could you brew me a heath potion? I hope you know how to, but you came off Tutorial Island, like everyone else, so I trust you know how to. Where you on the island when the rats attacked?" he asked.

"Yes, I was there when the rats attacked. I saw the whole thing. And, if I could only have a stove, I could try to brew some health potions for you," I said.

"There is a stove upstairs, in the house. Thank you for being so kind as to make a poor white knight some health potions," Sir Vant groaned. "I have called help from Falador, and some more white knights should come." I nodded, got out my potion-making kit from my bag, and climbed up back to the surface.

Large sections of the walls from the house had collapsed, making the house look like a ruin. There were people running everywhere, screaming. I could see, with a pang of hatred, Madrey1, standing there calmly. A nearby house had collapsed entirely, and debris and bricks was everywhere. I saw Lumbridge guards standing around the house, since it must have been obvious that the cellar was the source of the commotion. I spotted the undamaged stove and sink, and I stepped towards it.

I read the list of ingredients again, from my magic book. I needed (in order) two litres of hot water, a few drops of potion mix, seven feathers, a set of logs, an eye of newt, and two pieces of cooked meat.

The only ingredients I needed to get myself were the meat, logs, and feathers, so I decided to go to a chicken coop to get some of the ingredients. But, for now, I would get two sets of logs. One was for the potion, the second, to cook the meat. I saw two trees nearby, and I got out my axe ready. I stepped up to them. I got my axe at the ready, and gave one tree an almighty thwack with my axe. Fireworks rose up around up, indicating that I had raised a woodcutting level up to four.

After several minutes of hard work, I had two sets of logs at my feet. I put my axe away in my bag. I saw a chicken coop just over the bridge. I could see the innocent chickens, clucking, pecking at some birdseed on the floor. I crept over the wooden bridge, across to the chicken coop. I opened the gate, hoping the creak wouldn't disturb the farmer. There was a small house next to the coop.

I crept up to two chickens. They looked at me curiously. I got out my sword, but before I could slaughter the poor chickens, a roar shook the town. The chickens scattered, and a window smashed. I thought about poor, exhausted Sir Vant, in the cellar, fighting off the three-headed dragon. I quickly killed two panicking chickens by beheading them. After a few seconds, two bones, two raw chickens, and ten feathers lay on the floor in a bundle.

I scooped them up, as a farmer in simple white overalls and a straw hat, clutching a pitchfork, ran outside. The level 7 farmer saw me scooping up my loot, and he roared in fury.

"Why ye killing me chickens?!" the farmer shouted, running towards me. I ran, not wanting to fight a farmer that was several levels stronger then me. The farmer stopped chasing me at the bridge. He stood there, shaking his fist at me, calling me rude names.

I ran back to the tap and the stove. I got out my tinderbox and my cooking stick, but then I noticed the stove next to me. What was the point of cutting down two trees if there was a stove there already? Grumbling, I abandoned one set of logs outside. I cooked the two pieces of chicken successfully. I got out seven feathers ready, leaving another seven (I still had a few feathers left from killing the chickens in Terrera's house).

I got out my cauldron, and I put it on the stove ready. I put the stove up to full power. I filled my measuring jug with two litres of hot water. When the stove was hot enough, I poured in the right amount of hot water. When it hit the cauldron, it hissed, and began to bubble madly. I took out the bottle which contained the potion mix, and I put a few drops in. The cauldron hissed again, and bubbled twice as fast. I put in the feathers, and the bubbling slowed down. I put in the set of logs, which dissolved into dust. I took out a slippery eye of newt from the jar, and I dropped it in the potion. I took out some meat, and I plonked it in the bubbling, steaming water. The potion stopped bubbling, and it began rapidly changing orange. After a few seconds, it stopped hissing, and a successful cauldron full of health mix stood there.

I scooped up the potion in five vials, leaving two vials empty. Now I had seven vials full of health brew. I put away my potion set, and I climbed down to the cellar. Sir Vant sat up eagerly when I stepped in. He was pale, and he had a large, bleeding gut on his leg. He must have warded off the dragon.

I handed him two vials of health potion. He drank the two of them, and his face lit up, and his leg and arm suddenly looked better. He took off one of his plate legs. He took out some bandages from his pocket behind his white armour, and he wrapped the leg with the bandage. He put his plate leg armour back on.

"Thank you, that potion was enough to keep me healthy enough to stop this dragon from reaching the surface," he said happily. "Say, I'm getting peckish, could you fish me my favourite snack-crayfish?" he asked eagerly. "Crayfish only takes level one fishing to catch, but you need a crayfish cage to catch it." He fished something out of his pocket. He handed it to me.

It was a small metal grey cage with a small hole in the top. "I think there are spots where you can find crayfish behind the church," he said. "Would you be my assistant and would you help me ward off this dragon by doing other helpful chores for me?" he then asked. I thought for a moment, and then I nodded. He beamed at me. I climbed up the ladder.

I looked in the direction of the muddy path. There was a large wooden barrier, with a few Lumbridge guards standing there, keeping a watchful eye on the scene. I looked in the direction of the graveyard. The rusty graveyard gates were padlocked. There was a guard standing there, looking alert. I looked behind the church. I could just barely make out some sparkly water. I began walking in that direction.

Lumbridge was quite silent. Phileas nodded at me as I passed him. A man in long, ragged blue robes, with a blue hood was pacing around. He held a wooden staff with a crystal ball on the end. The crystal ball was swirling with red mist. This man was shouting "doom!!" to thin air. Phileas whispered "Doomsayer" to me. He must be the doomsayer.

"Wait!" the doomsayer said, putting out an arm to stop me. His face was looking at my back. "There is something on your back!! I can sense it. It is moving, preparing for the attack-darkness is approaching, my orb of doom tells me, it is coming-closer and closer, never stopping, never ceasing…." The doomsayer said dramatically to me. His arm fell down, and I walked past him. He had started muttering to himself, glancing every now and then at my back. I didn't really trust him, I thought.

I passed the courtyard, and I saw that the front doors of the castle were closed. There were guards standing everywhere, and there seemed to be a great deal of talking coming from the castle. Everyone that was in the town must have been put in the castle, and they were guarding it heavily. They were banning everyone else from coming into the town. I stepped past the big stone statues of some particular old queen, and on to the fishing spots.

I took out my new crayfish cage, and stepped up to a sparkly spot. I saw small, grey, lobster-like creatures that must be crayfish swimming in the crystal-clear water. I plunged in my cage, leaving it in the water for a few moments. When I pulled it back out, two crayfish lay in the cage. I saw fireworks rise up around me, telling me I had risen to level 3 in fishing. I cheerfully opened up the cage, pulling out the two crayfish. I put them in my bag. I plunged my cage in again, successfully catching another three crayfish this time. I took the little grey fish out of the cage, and into my open bag. My bag was starting to fill up with objects now. I caught another four crayfish, and then I put my cage back in my bag, before slinging it back on my back and running off towards the house with the cellar in it.

I went up to the stove, and I got a pan from the rack on the wall in front of the stove. I put the crayfish in the pan, before turning on the stove, and putting the pan on the stove. I waited another few minutes, and I took the pan off the stove, and then I turned the stove off entirely.

I had cooked most of the crayfish. They looked plump, juicy, crispy, and tender. But I had burnt a few of the crayfish, and they were black and smelly. Pinching my nose, I dropped them in a nearby wastepaper basket. I took the cooked ones down into the cellar.

Sir Vant was waiting there, and he jumped up eagerly at the smell of the crayfish.

"Why, thank you so much Mainiac97!!" he babbled, snatching the crayfish out of my hand. He stuffed them into his mouth enthusiastically. I could see his jaws working, chewing up the crayfish. His eyes were watering with delight, and his helmet lay on the floor, forgotten.

"You are some cook!! You've cooked these to perfection!!" he said, his mouth full of crayfish. But then a roar echoed through the cave, causing dust to fall from the ceiling. The dragon came crashing down the cave; its wings spread wide, all three of its faces contorted with fury. Sir Vant swallowed his mouthful of crayfish. He put on his helmet from the floor, and he picked up his sword and shield. I picked up my sword and shield too, just in case I needed them. Just at that moment, Osrie1 went tumbling down the ladder, wielding his sword and shield.

"About time you came!!" I yelled, thumping him on the shoulder. He grinned sheepishly, but stopped grinning when he saw the furious dragon crashing through the cave.

"Brace yourselves for the fight of your life!!" Sir Vant shouted to us over the roaring of the angry dragon.

The dragon halted at the end of the cave, and breathed a wave of fire at us all. Sir Vant managed to stop the terrible red flames with his shield. The dragon knocked Sir Vant aside with its enormous claw. Sir Vant sat up, and ran towards the dragon, hitting the right face with his sword. The steel-like green scales reflected the sword, but it must have caused the dragon some amount of pain, because it was roaring.

It stamped its feet on the floor, causing the floor to crack. But also, it shook the entire of Lumbridge. Boulders fell everywhere. One fell on Osrie1, causing him to crumple, unconscious. I shouted with anger. I pushed the boulder off Osrie1, pushing him up the ladder and out of danger on the surface.

The dragon roared again, and let off some kind of red light. It didn't affect us, but suddenly cracks appeared in the other walls. The shelves fell of, smashing any boxes or barrels. All of the walls collapsed, and several long tunnels were seen. The dragon roared again, and the caves caved in. Boulders fell everywhere, and a small avalanche destroyed the tunnels, except for a small amount of tunnel where the dragon stood.

There was a small puff of smoke, and a man in long red robes stood there, behind the dragon. He was bald, and he sneered at me, and that sneer seemed very familiar….

"You're Master Samuel of the chaos temple!!!" Sir Vant bellowed. "You disturbed the dragon!!! You're the one who has been causing all of this havoc, by waking up a three-headed dragon!!"

"Yes, I disturbed the dragon, but I have done a lot more to it!! I'll drop you a hint. The dragon has yellow eyes!!" Master Samuel sneered. I gasped.

"So you are the one who caused the rats and the goblins and the ghosts to act strangely!!" I said.

"No, it wasn't me who did this. Somebody else is doing this, to prepare for the final plan….." Master Samuel trailed off. Sir Vant was struggling to fight the dragon, because the dragon was getting more aggressive.

Master Samuel created a ball of pure darkness in his palm, and with a whispered prayer, he sent it flying towards Sir Vant. It hit Sir Vant in the chest, and Sir Vant was blasted off his feet, and into the floor. The dragon breathed fire on Sir Vant, who managed to deflect it with his strange orange shield. Master Samuel was preparing another blast of darkness, when an idea struck me.

I couldn't go past the dragon, because of its size, and it could crush me with one foot if it wanted to. But, I could use arrows. That was the reason they were invented, so you could attack enemies from afar. I got out my bow and arrow. Master Samuel may be level 24, and he may be able to use powerful prayer attacks, but those red robes couldn't protect much.

I sent an arrow flying towards Master Samuel. He was too busy making a blast of darkness to notice what I was doing. It flew over the dragon's heads. The dragon was too busy attacking Sir Vant to notice. It flew right into Master Samuel's shoulder. Scarlet blood splashed all over the floor. Master Samuel lost concentration, and his blast of darkness blew up in his face, sending him flying into the dragon's tail. The spikes punctured his body, and blood fell all over the floor.

Master Samuel screamed in pain, and disappeared with a puff of black smoke, saying "My dragon can finish you off!!"

The dragon breathed fire everywhere. Sir Vant managed to stop the flow of dragon fire with his shield. Sir Vant ran forward with his bluish sword, and stabbed the dragon's middle faces left eye. The red disappeared from that eye, turning it back to its natural yellow colour. The dragon roared again, as blood went all over the floor. He spread his wings wide, and he knocked the orange shield out of Sir Vant's hand. We were doomed.

The dragon was about to create a burst of flame when another roar echoed through the place. But it didn't come from the three-headed dragon. It had come from a different dragon. Cracks appeared in the ceiling, and the ceiling collapsed. A large purple hand (telekinetic grab) pulled us out of the cellar and into safety. Once all of the dust and smoke had cleared, I saw a large white dragon with white scales standing there. There was a familiar man in white robes holding a long white shiny sword sitting on the back of the dragon, with Ilookgood99 sitting behind him. The dragon that stopped the army of rats was back to stop the three-headed dragon.

I heard Sir Vant mumble faintly "The god sword!" I remembered the quest master whispering the exact same words next to me. The white dragon roared, and began fighting with the three-headed dragon. Gigantic claws ripped at flesh, dragon fire went everywhere, and I saw blasts of light from Ilookgood99 and stabs from the god sword by the white-robed man hitting the three-headed dragon.

After what felt like hours of fighting, a faint roar came from the bloody three-headed dragon, and it slumped on the floor, blood pouring everywhere, completely dead. The white dragon gave a roar, and it flew off into the sunset. Sir Vant and I stood up, and we gave a sigh of relief.

"Well, I'm off to Falador, and I feel like you deserve several rewards for helping me. Take this quest scroll, it tells you what you have earned from a quest," he told me, and he handed me a scroll. This is what it read:

**You have earned:**

**2 quest points**

**200 bronze arrows**

**50gp**

**A bottle of ink and a peacock feather quill**

**500 hit point experience**

**2 experience lamps**

Suddenly, all of my rewards appeared in front of me. Fireworks popped up around me, and my olive-green book told me that I now had 13 hit points. 50gp appeared in my money pouch (I now had 67gp in my pouch) and another 200 bronze arrows appeared in my arrow sling. Two lamps, a large shiny feather, and a bottle of black ink appeared in front of me on the floor. I put them away in my bag. My quest journal now had 3 quest points on the front, and the quest scroll glued itself underneath a page that read 'The Three-Headed Dragon'. I stepped out into the street as Sir Vant ran in the direction of the windmill, waving to me. I waved back, looking at a nearby clock. It was 4:00pm, and I decided I would adventure up the muddy path now, to visit what was waiting for me at the other end.


	18. Chapter 18: Sheep Shearer

_**Chapter 18: Sheep Shearer **_

Osrie1 moaned at my feet, and he sat up.

"What happened? Where am I? Where is the dragon? Where is that guy in white armour?" Osrie1 mumbled. I sighed, and explained everything that happened in the cave to him. By the end, he was standing up straight, no longer dizzy, and was perfectly alert.

"You know what makes me most curious? Something is going on. Let us count all of the strange events that have happened lately. First, James appeared in the bank. Why would he want the money so desperately? And why would he want the money from tutorial bank in particular?" Osrie1 asked.

"Well, I found out recently that James might possibly be a thief as well as a dark sorcerer," I replied.

"Secondly," Osrie1 continued, ignoring me, "Master Samuel tried to take over tutorial church. Why that church in particular?"

"Well, he said he wanted to train new people to love the power of Zamorak," I said, rolling my eyes.

"But why?" he asked. I shrugged. "And there was the army of rats that invaded the island." I nodded. "And those goblins attacked you. And, people have been going on about mad ghosts and zombies. And, also, people have been telling you that there was something on your back. The doomsayer and Master Samuel mentioned approaching doom, and some kind of grand plan. _What is going on_?" he demanded. I shrugged again.

I was also wondering what was on my back. I felt movement at one point on my back, but I hadn't really thought about it. I had just counted a mischievous spider was jumping on my back every now and then. That would explain the girl screaming and running away. But, Ilookgood99 and the doomsayer mentioned it a bit more seriously. Ilookgodd99 and the doomsayer….

Strange things _were_ happening. Like, Ilookgood99 kept popping up, and was acting very strange. And this white dragon with the white-robed man on its back kept coming to save the day (like, the rats would have demolished the island if the dragon hadn't stopped them, and the three-headed dragon would have reached the surface if it weren't for the white dragon). But, I thought, there wasn't much point in wondering. I decided to drop the subject.

"I'm going to go mining," Osrie1 said, and he walked off in the direction of the graveyard. All of the guards were back in the castle, and the barriers were gone. The padlock had gone from the graveyard gate. The town was bustling again, and people were chatting about the events.

"I could have taken out that dragon easy!! Sir Vant was just showing off," a sneering voice said from behind me, and I swung around, and came face-to-face with Madrey1.

"It was over level 200 mind, and you should stop showing off yourself. Sir Vant was just helping, and if you think you could have handled a three-headed dragon, why didn't you come down yourself?" I retorted. His face turned steadily purple, and a vein started throbbing in his temple.

"The opinion of a little noob such as you isn't very important at all," he shouted, sending spit flying everywhere. He kicked me, making he keel over in pain, and then he threw me into the ruins of the house.

My head had collided with a brick. I lost a hit point, leaving 12 left. I sat up, rubbing my throbbing head. Madrey1 was stamping down the street in the direction of the sheep pen, cracking the pavement a little bit, and causing passers-by to stare.

I went towards the furnace, deciding that the copper and tin in my bag needed to be refined. I stepped inside. The furnace stood there, like always, red-hot, like a portal to hell. I put all of my copper and tin in together. They both got very hot, and began to melt into each other. The melted mess turned from silver and orange into a shiny brown. I used the iron ladle to scoop up the melted bronze. There was too much there to fit in the bar mould. I put in a bit of the bronze into the bar mould. It hardened, but I took the bronze bar off quickly, so the rest of my melted bronze wouldn't harden in the ladle. I made several more bars, until the ladle was empty. I had six bars in total.

I decided I would spend the rest of the day exploring down by the windmill. I set off.

I passed the sheep farm. The sheep stared at me as I passed. There was a level 3 farmer inside, using a pair of shears to cut off the sheep's wool. That sheep was looking at the shears with what might have been fright in its eyes. I walked past a passing goblin, who glared at me, towards a small wooden building.

I opened the front gate. The building had a small chicken coop in the front, with a basket of eggs in the corner. There was a tree in the corner of the coop. There was a shiny bronze axe wedged into the tree. There was an empty bucket near the door to the wooden house, with some leather boots next to it. There was a black-and-white dairy cow standing in the corner, tethered up to a wooden post. The chickens and the cow looked at me, as if I was disturbing the peace. I gulped nervously, and stepped inside the house itself.

There was a sink and a stove in the corner. There was an open door with two small beds (one red, one yellow) and two large cupboards behind it. There was a pitchfork and a spade propped up against the wall in the bedroom. A farmer in a straw hat and blue overalls sat there at the foot of the yellow bed. There was a barrel with a pair of shears on top of it. There was a small table with a stack of plates on it and a small box full of pie dishes next to it. There was a small crate full of money in the corner of the room. The farmer spotted me, and his eyes narrowed.

"What are you doing in my house?" the farmer roared. I began stuttering an apology, but then we saw the level 3 farmer rush through the door, screaming. His shears were snapped in two, and there was a deep gash in his stomach. Deep red blood was spattering all over the floor. Then, Madrey1 stepped into the house too, a look of enjoyment on his face.

He used his sword to chop the farmer's head cleanly off. The head swerved over us in a brilliant ark, before landing slap-bang in the sink. Blood and unpleasant pinkish goo was going down the drain. The other farmer who shouted at me roared in fury again, this time at Madrey1.

"You killed Farmer Sam. What did you do that for?" the farmer bellowed. Madrey1 laughed.

"It was fun to see him squirm," Madrey1 grinned, picking up the coins and bones that had suddenly appeared on the floor. "You are Farmer Fred, aren't you? The one who lets his sheep open for the public to shear? Why should we do your dirty work?" Madrey1 then said. Farmer Fred glared daggers at him, still purple in the face. Madrey1 laughed again, stepped out the house, and closed the door. We heard the squeals of chickens outside. They must have been murdered. Farmer Fred sat down on his bed, and stared at the place where the decapitated body of Farmer Sam used to lay.

"Who is going to help me hear the sheep? They are getting mighty woolly," Farmer Fred moaned.

"I could help you, if you like," I said shyly. He looked at me.

"Would you?" he asked. I nodded. He then sat up.

"Thanks. Could you get me 20 balls of wool? Consider it a quest and I could pay you," Farmer Fred said eagerly. I nodded, thinking I would take the wool from the sheep to the spinning wheel in the crafting tutor's room in Lumbridge to turn the wool to balls. He handed me a pair of shears. I waited patiently, to make sure that he didn't have anything else to say.

"Well don't just stand there!! I'm not paying you by the hour!" farmer Fred yelled. He had a big temper, I thought privately. "And you may want to watch out for the thing," he said.

"What's the thing?" I asked, puzzled. He sighed.

"The thing is something mysterious that is killing my sheep. It is disguising itself as a sheep, so I can't tell the difference," he whispered. "Now, go and do your job!!" grumbling, I stepped outside, towards the gate that led to the sheep pen.

I passed a group of goblins bickering over a sack of gold.

"My money!! My shiny money!!" one goblin roared, attempting hopelessly to kick off the others. I chortled at their arguing over a small sack of money. Goblins were so stupid, I thought. They only care about money, not of its worth, but of how shiny it is. If I waved 20mil in front of their faces, but the coins were filthy, they probably wouldn't accept them. I stepped into the sheep pen.

The sheep gave a start when I walked in, and scattered. I chuckled softly. I stepped towards a sheep with my shears, but it just ran away, baaing. I grunted with annoyance. I stepped towards a sheep eating some grass, and managed to successfully cut off all of the sheep's wool while it didn't notice. Now, I had a small fluffy cloud of wool. The sheep didn't notice, and it continued to eat the grass. I needed a bit more to make 20 balls of wool. I stepped towards another sheep. The sheep had a lot of wool on him, making him look fat. It looked up at me, and just ignored me. I quietly cut off all of its wool with the shears. With a bag full of wool, I stepped out of the sheep pen, and into the main town.

I passed a very pretty girl that was level 4. She was a head shorter then me, but was stunning all the same. She had long blond hair, and blue eyes that twinkled like mine. She wore blue thin trousers and a green shirt. She smiled at me as I passed her. I smiled back, stunned. She was just so pretty.

I saw Madrey1 run down the path that I had just walked down. He barged past me, knocking me down. He looked at the pretty girl, and stopped in his tracks.

"Well hello little missy," he sneered, and he grabbed her by the waist. She screamed, struggling to get out of his grip.

"Let me go, what have I done to you?" she wailed.

"Shut up, and take this like a woman!!" Madrey1 roared. He began walking towards the bridge with her, but I jumped to my feet, and ran towards him. Knowing full well that I was basically committing suicide doing this, I jumped onto his face, pulled of his dragon helmet, and threw it into the river. I grabbed at his face, scratching every single inch of it I could scratch. He roared, dropped the girl, and swiped at me. I flew backwards into the ruins of the cellar. I fell on top of the corpse of the dead three-headed dragon. Madrey1 jumped down into the cellar with me. He climbed towards me, and as a last ditch attempt to save myself; I threw my sword at his face. It hit his head, and I felt him lose three hit points. He laughed, and he got out his dragon sword. He waved it at me, but I ran underneath him, and he accidentally decapitated the dragon's middle head. He lost his balance, and fell into the landslide that the dragon created. The rocks came tumbling down on top of him, and with a final roar of rage, he was buried in rocks.

I climbed out of the dungeon, picked up my sword, and stepped towards the girl. She beamed at me.

"You saved me!! God knows what that man would've done if he had successfully carried me away!" she said. I bowed at her.

"Not a problem, your name?" I asked.

"Oh, my name is Amy11," she said, giggling. I nodded, and I shook her hand.

"I'm Mainiac97," I said.

"Right, well thank you Mainiac97, I hope we will meet again," she said, before skipping off. I sighed, and set off towards the courtyard.

I stepped inside the castle. I went automatically towards the stairs on the left. I clambered up them, and stepped into the crafting room. The crafting tutor waved cheerfully at me, and I stepped towards the spinning wheel. The crafting tutor was knitting something out of a piece of coloured cloth.

The spinning wheel was a wheel on a stand, with a pin underneath the wheel, and a handle on the wheel. I took out some of my wool, and put it under the pin. I grasped the handle firmly, and began to pull it around the wheel. The wool on the pin was being shaped into the shape of string with a little help from my free hand. It took quite a while to shape all of the wool into string. When I was done, I had five balls of wool. I took out some more wool from my bag, and shaped it into another five balls of wool.

After another quarter of an hour, I had 20 balls of wool. I decided to make a stop in the bank to put away some of the items I didn't need. I climbed further up the stairs, until the small but packed stone building and the wooden bridge that led to the hotel was visible. I went towards the bank, and went to the back of the queue. When I was in the front, I pushed my bank PIN in the red panel, and my enormous bank account was visible. I put in a pot and a bucket that I uncovered at the bottom of my bag. I put in my experience lamps and 50gp, so now I had 95gp in the bank. I was quickly getting rich, I thought. I put in my pair of shears and my bronze bars, and closed my bank account. I set off down the stairs, and out of the castle.

I walked all the way back to Farmer Fred's house. He wasn't inside, but I found him behind the house, burying Farmer Sam's head. Farmer Fred's garden was consisted of a few trees, a few flowers, and a large onion field growing in the middle. There was a compost bin nearby. Farmer Sam was buried in a corner of the garden, with a small stone saying 'Here lays Farmer Sam, who would help with shearing the sheep as often as he could'. I poked Farmer Fred in the back. He turned around, and gave a start when he saw the balls of wool in my hand.

"By golly, you actually did it!! I wasn't really expecting you to do it!!" he squealed excitedly. "You have earned this!! I guess I have to pay you too." He took the wool, and he handed me a scroll reading:

**You have earned:**

**1 quest point**

**100 crafting experience**

**60gp**

**Use of Farmer Fred's farm**

**Use of the farming ability**

60gp had automatically appeared in my money pouch, and my quest journal now read 4 on the front. The scroll automatically glued itself into a page that read 'sheep shearer' on the top. Fireworks rose up around me, telling me I had now risen to level 3 in crafting.

"Farming? That is ability?" I asked. Farmer Fred sighed.

"I'll help you get used to farming then, because you got me my balls of wool," Farmer Fred said.


	19. Chapter 19: Farming with Farmer Fred

_**Chapter 19: Farming with Farmer Fred **_

Half an hour later, after receiving my quest scroll from Farmer Fred, I came back with all of my money put in the bank (making a total of 155gp in the bank) and a trowel, a pitchfork, a watering can full of water, a seed dibber, a rake, and a spade in my hand. Farmer Fred had prepared a small amount of grass in the corner of his back garden for me.

"Now, let me tell you about farming," Farmer Fred said. "Farming is when you grow your own food and crops for whatever you need them for. Like, for example, you could grow a field of cabbage to eat, or to sell. But, you need several tools to farm.

"First, you will need compost. Just put lots of food scraps and earth and weeds in a compost bin, wait an hour for the vegetation to rot and you have compost. You need compost to keep the plants healthy. Also, you need water to help your crops grow. That is why I collect water. I pour the rainwater in the watering can, or if it is the sunny season when it doesn't rain, I fill it with tap water." He gestured towards the rainwater barrel, which was full, probably from the storm yesterday.

"You know, it is the middle of July at the moment, but the other day we got one of the worst thunderstorms there has ever been. And the weather isn't looking too good now," Farmer Fred said, pointing up at the grey dismal clouds in the sky. "The newspaper is going to have a field day today. Three-headed dragon appearing, white dragon killing three-headed one, a rock golem nearly destroying Lumbridge, the master thief spotted near shop, and if a storm comes, there is going to be another pile of news. Well anyway, back to farming," Farmer Fred said briskly.

"First, you need to upturn the weeds, put them in the compost bin, and use your tools to put the soil away in a pile. Then, you need to get a seed. I went to Draynor market to buy some potato seeds. You can buy seeds, but you can also get seeds by planting a plant, then taking the seed from the fully-grown plant." He got a small brown sack from his pocket. He opened the sack, and gave it to me. I looked inside. There were a handful of brownish seeds inside. Farmer Fred gestured towards the grass.

"Use the rake with the grass and weeds, and uproot them. When you have done that, put them in the compost bin," Farmer Fred ordered, pointing to a small wooden bin. I got my rake, and scraped it against the grass, leaving some weeds and grass remaining. Dirt splattered my leather boots. I scraped up the rest of the weeds and grass, leaving a clean patch of soil. I plonked the weeds and grass in the compost bin.

Farmer Fred handed me a bucket of disgusting, smelly brown earth-like stuff. "That is compost," he said simply. I grimaced. I hated it, it was smelly and I didn't understand how it was meant to help the plants grow. "You are supposed to spread that on the clean earth, to decrease the chance of disease. This is why you need the trowel." I couldn't help laugh. It was supposed to protect the plants from DISEASE? It was more likely to spread disease!!! I got the trowel, and put some compost on it. I knelt down, and spread the compost over the soil.

"No, no, not like that!!! Like this!!!" Farmer Fred snapped, snatching the trowel and the compost off me. He upturned the compost all over the soil, and then used the trowel to spread it. I nodded.

"Now, the soil is weeded and treated with compost, now it is time to plant the seeds," Farmer Fred smiled. He handed me the sack of potato seeds. I picked up my seed dibber, and put a potato seed in the seed slot. I put the end of the dibber in the soil, and pulled the handle. The seed was shot through the end and into the soil. The top of the seed was just barely visible. I went to plant another one next to the first one, when Farmer Fred said, "No, you only need three to plant a whole field!! So, one will do for that small patch of grass!!"

"Right, now it is time to water your crops. Get your watering can," said Fred. I picked up my watering can, and went to the rainwater barrel. I plunked the can in, and pulled it back out when it was full. I shuffled to the crops, and sprinkled water on them. I sprinkled, and suddenly a drop of water fell from the sky onto my head. I stopped watering, and looked up. IT had started raining.

"Quick, get inside!!!" Farmer Fred yelled. Then suddenly, the clouds split, and it began pouring. I heard a crack of thunder go through the sky. I ran inside.

"I guess you don't need to water your potatoes now," Fred said shakily. I nodded. "Well, now let's learn about storing your tools for future use. Tool leprechaun, come here!!!" Fred ordered. There was a small puff of green smoke, and a man had appeared by Farmer Fred.

This man was very small. He had wrinkly skin, and a short orange beard. He wore green overalls, and was holding what looked like a small wooden box.

"Aye, 'tis a fine day, to be sure," said the leprechaun in a strange accent. Farmer Fred rolled his eyes me behind the leprechaun's back.

"Could you store Mainiac97's tools for me, mate?" Farmer Fred asked him. He spotted me and my armfuls of tools. He jumped with glee.

"That's what I'm here for!" he said. He was about to take my tools and my empty bucket off me, when Farmer Fred stopped him.

"Have this first," he told me firmly. He handed me ten buckets of compost, and a larger brown sack. With a look inside, I saw it was full of different seeds. The leprechaun snatched my tools off me, and put them in his wooden box.

"Just ask me if ye be wantin' yer tools," the leprechaun said, before disappearing with a puff of green smoke.

"They are called tool leprechauns," Farmer Fred told me. "They live to store people's tools. It saves a lot of people inventory and bank space. But, they can't store seeds, so that you'll have to keep. Now, let me tell you something while your plants are growing."

"You are welcome to use my farm anytime you want. If you need eggs, you only have to help yourself. If you need milk, you only need to get a bucket and milk my dairy cow. If you need tools, I'm sure I can let you borrow mine. But, if you need to buy new ones, I can sell you some, but at a price. If you need seeds, or compost, or plant cure (to cure diseased plants) I can sell you some. If you want to grow something, but haven't got the time to look after them, I will look after them for you. If you need a place to stay, then I can pull out the spare beds for you and your friends. If you need dinner, I can cook you some of my wonderful home-made onion soup."

"Would you really? Oh thank you Mister!!" I gasped.

"Fred is my name, I don't accept mister," he said gruffly.

"What kind of things can you do with onions?" I asked.

"Well, there are lots of things," Fred said. "Well, firstly you can cook with them. You can cook garden pie with them, for a start. And you can cook onion soup. To make the soup, you will need four onions, one potato, one cooked chicken, a bowl of water, and a cabbage. You need a cooking level of 30 before you can cook onion soup. And I think you can cook a complicated dish called pasta with it. I'm not sure how to cook pasta, though. I think you need a cooking level of 85 before attempting it.

"Another thing you can use onions for are potions. That is the reason I grow onions. That crate of money was given to me by a rich mage who wanted my entire onion field. It's easy to grow again, really. I sell the onions at a low price to magicians, who are grateful in return. If you ever need onions, come to me. I'll let you have them for free. Help yourself to onions when you need them. Aggie the witch in Draynor village uses onions to make dye."

"Well, it is getting 5:00pm and onwards. You might want to consider staying for dinner. Have you got any friends that would like to stay here too?" he asked kindly.

"Yes, I have a friend called Osrie1, but he said he wanted to go mining," I said. I chuckled silently at the thought of him in Lumbridge mines, running for cover.

"Well, it is his fault he didn't stick with you, I guess you can go looking for him afterwards," said Fred. We heard a crack of thunder, and then we heard thumping from out front.

"Excuse me," Fred whispered, going towards the front door. He opened the door, and closed it behind him. But then I heard a new voice. It was cold, heartless, and evil. It made my heart feel like ice, and it felt like a chill was creeping up my body. It was a voice of pure evil.

"Flee from me, Farmer Fred!!!" the voice cried out.

"Help me!!" The voice of Farmer Fred came. I heard screaming, high cold laughter, and muffled thumps. I ran outside, but all I saw were a pack of chickens and the cow. It was raining down hard, but I didn't care, farmer Fred was lying on the floor, several deep gashes in his chest.

"That chicken……attacked me," he croaked, pointing towards a large, fat chicken. Its feathers looked ruffled, and it looked bigger then the other chickens. It looked me curiously.

"Are you okay Fred? It's just a fat chicken," I said, uncertain of what to believe. The chicken had an aura of menace around it, but it was probably an affect of the weather.

"Then explain who was talking in t-that voice," Fred said.

"I don't know, don't I?" I retorted. "Now, let's get you inside." I grabbed his hand, and helped him up. I opened the door for him, and he stumbled inside. I turned to look at the strange chicken, but it was gone. Curious, I followed Fred inside, wondering what had attacked him.


	20. Chapter 20: The Nightmare

_**Chapter 20: The Nightmare **_

Osrie1 was mining in the Lumbridge mines. He had a pile of copper and tin at his feet. He was sweating profusely, and his clothes were filthy. He stopped mining, and mopped his sweaty brow. He put his copper and tin in his bag. He was exhausted, and hungry. It seemed like ages ago he had had that wonderful meat pie. His stomach rumbled at the thought.

He wondered what Mainiac97 was up to. He hoped he hadn't encountered another golem, or another three-headed dragon.

He heard a clap of thunder overhead. The clouds looked murky and grey, and for some reason it seemed to have a swirl of black in it. That didn't seem natural. The small amount of people that were mining fled, leaving Osrie1 behind. The skies opened with a rumble, and it poured down with rain.

Osrie1 ran for cover. He ran through the church graveyard, and he ran straight into none other then Madrey1.

"Hey, watch where you're going, you noob!" Madrey1 snapped.

"Sorry sir. Have you seen my friend, Mainiac97?" osrie1 asked, rubbing his stomach.

"Yes I know him. He's a real noob, that one. Try and check the sheep farm, which is where I last saw him. Now get out of my way before I throttle you!" Madrey1 said grumpily, shoving Osrie1 out of the way and stomping off towards the swamp.

Osrie1 rushed into the shop. The newspaper stand had several piles of newspaper on it. The headline was printed up on the stand. It read, 'Three-headed dragon attacks Lumbridge!!' He grabbed a copy, and went up to the clerk. Osrie1 handed him his piles of copper and tin. The clerk saw him holding a copy of the newspaper, and handed him 18gp in return. Osrie1 put the money in his bag, put the newspaper up his shirt, and ran outside to greet this unnatural storm.

He trudged up the road, past the sheep pen. Rain pounded into his head, and the wind nearly blew him off his feet. The sheep were huddled under a large tree. Up ahead there was a small wooden house. There was a chicken coop full of chickens and a dairy cow outside. The door was ajar slightly, and a gust of wind blew the door open entirely.

(_Mainiac97's point of view)_ I sat on a wooden table, waiting patiently for my onion stew to be finished. Farmer Fred was making it on the stove. There was a smell of cooking meat and vegetables in the air. My mouth watered at the thought of the meat, bubbling away in the stew. A large gust of wind blew the door open. Osrie1 was standing there, hesitating on whether to come in or not.

"Who are you? What are you doing on my property?!" Fred yelled. There was a tear on his face.

"He's my friend, Osrie1. Why are you crying?" I asked.

"I'm not crying. It's the onions cooking!" Fred said, another tear running down his face. Osrie1 stepped in happily, sitting down opposite me.

"Hey there, what's cooking? I'm starved," Osrie1 said, sniffing eagerly.

"Onion stew," Fred said reluctantly, adding a cabbage leaf to the mix. Osrie1 nodded. He started going on about how he'd raised to level 4 mining, level 3 smithing, and level 3 magic, and how he had made over 60gp that day. I explained about helping Farmer Fred, and learning about farming, and planting potatoes in the garden. I decided not to mention the so-called evil chicken.

After five minutes of the stew bubbling and Osrie1's stomach rumbling, Farmer Fred yelled "Stew's on!!" and, wearing leather gloves; put the pot on the table. He took out three bowls and three spoons from the cupboard under the sink, and put them in front of us. He then took out a large iron ladle that looked similar to the one from the furnaces, and he spooned stew into each of our bowls. He then took out three beer glasses and a large bottle filled with beer.

"Anyone fancy a drink?" Farmer Fred said, smiling mischievously. I nodded, and so did Osrie1. Farmer Fred filled the beer glasses with beer, and put the bottle back. I tried a spoonful of stew. It was hot!! It was very tasty, with tender chunks of meat, nice, soft onions and crispy cooked cabbage. But it was so hot it made my throat blister. I coughed, and took a swig of beer. My throat felt better. But the beer tasted strange. It tasted bubbly, sour and strong, but had quite a pleasant tang in it. It made me feel quite dizzy and sleepy. I blew on my stew. I decided to wait until it cooled down. Osrie1 shovelled it down, burping every now and then, and taking a hearty swig of beer. I noticed the damp newspaper on the floor.

"Can I read this?" I asked Osrie1. He nodded, still eating. I read the headline.

**Lumbridge Paper 2gp**

_THREE-HEADED DRAGON ATTACKS LUMBRIDGE!!_

_Earlier today, a three-headed dragon was found in the basement of a Lumbridge family by heroic white knight, Sir Vant. Unconfirmed sources report seeing the dragon. They described it as a 'huge green-scaled beast with red eyes and three heads'. _

_There are reports of a similar dragon attacking Witchaven a few days ago. It is unknown whether it is the same dragon. Also, family woman Gertrude from Varrock reports seeing the dragon flying overhead, terrifying her kids. This report was backed up by several Varrock guards, Benny, a newspaper salesman, and a passer-by, Ilookgood99, who yesterday donated 50 beginner prayer amulets to the Lumbridge church. The Lumbridge Paper cannot figure out why it attacked. Dragons normally stay on their own turf, and only attack people who pass (Elvarg is an exception). Three-headed dragons are rare-people occasionally find them in the wilderness, and there is one report of a three-headed dragon in the third floor of the Stronghold of Security._

_People argue that dragons don't normally have red eyes, they have yellow. So, is this related to the rats, zombies, ghosts, and dark wizards going restless? People in Karamja tell us that there are occasional bursts of fire coming from Crandor. People who go into the wilderness nowadays never come back out, and they don't even reappear in Lumbridge, like they should. We can't tell whether the dragons there act up. People are panicking that this is the work of Zamorak, but others are sceptical._

_The Lumbridge Paper cannot get an interview with Sir Vant, because the white knights tell us he is too busy to talk. And, there are hardly any other eye-witnesses, simply because everyone was evacuated to the Castle._

_We are still unable to explain why the dragon was even there._

_Written by, Story Rover_

I stared sadly at the article. They didn't even mention me. This Story Rover clearly didn't know much about the case. Instead he rambles about why the dragon was there, why its eyes were red. I would have gladly given an interview. I flicked through the rest of the paper. There was an article about the new released Pie Recipe book written by Romily Weaklax, an advertisement for Bob's Brilliant Axes…..nothing very interesting.

But then, I spotted a page the really caught my attention.

_**Wanted!! Dead or alive!**_

_**Wanted for the attack and murder of several innocent people, a highwayman, and level 5. If you have any information, speak to Duke Horacio.**_

_**Reward: 1,000gp **_

Underneath that there was a blurred picture of a man in a cream uniform, a black highwayman mask, and a black cape. He was holding a long steel sword. It said 'Picture created by using special dyes'.

"Look at this!" I said to Osrie1, who was still shovelling food like it was the end of the world. He looked up, and spluttered, spraying me with bits of cabbage and meat.

"Fancy trying to capture him?" I asked. Osrie1 hesitated, and then nodded.

"You can go tomorrow, just look at the weather now!!" Farmer Fred exclaimed. The wind was howling, banging against the window, and rain thundered down on the house like boulders.

I made a start on my stew. It, surprisingly, was still quite hot, but I ate it all the same. Osrie1 had finished, so he turned on his glass of beer. The beer was beginning to make me feel dizzy. I burped, and continued to eat. Farmer Fred went into the bedroom and opened the cupboard, letting two small squashy beds fall out. I finished my stew and my beer, and stumbled into the bedroom. I couldn't see properly, and I couldn't think properly. This beer must have been quite strong. I fell on the bed, and went straight to sleep.

Early the next morning, I woke up. I looked around blearily. My head was aching. This must be the effect of the beer. I yawned, stretched, and got out of bed. Osrie1 was still snoring in his own bed, and Farmer Fred was fast asleep in the large bed. I looked at the clock on the bedside cabinet next to him. It was 6:00am. The storm had blown itself out. I looked out the window. My potatoes were fully grown, ready to be picked. I grabbed a large sack from the kitchen, and headed outside.

Lumbridge was quiet. There wasn't any chatter. I could hear a few footsteps. A skull wearing a blue hat and holding a blue bag with a large golden P on it in its teeth floated past.

"Good morning, I'm Postie Pete," the skull said cheerily as he passed. He stopped. "Let's see, any mail for Farmer Fred? No," he said, his eyes pointing to the inside of his bag. "Well, I'm off. Bye!" he floated down the road, past the windmill and the grain field, past the potato field, turning left at the crossroad in the horizon and out of sight. I wondered privately why a skull was being the postman here. I shrugged the thought off, and went to pick my potatoes.

The closed compost bin smelt quite bad. I pinched my nose, and opened it. A pile of rotting compost lay there, smelling. Feeling sick, I went to the front, and picked up about five buckets. I went back to the compost bin, and scooped up all the compost in the five buckets.

"Tool leprechaun!" I shouted. There was a puff of green smoke, and the tool leprechaun was standing there, puffing his pipe. He spotted my compost.

"Shall I store them for you?" he asked. I nodded. He grabbed them off me.

"Also, can I have my spade?" I asked. He nodded cheerily, and handed me my spade from the box. He waved, and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

I used the spade to dig up all of my muddy potatoes. They were way too dirty to eat. I decided to wash them first. I went inside holding armfuls of potato. I gave the spade back to the tool leprechaun, who had appeared again at my side.

I took a bowl from Fred's cupboard. I piled all of the potatoes into the bowl, and turned on the tap. I filled the bowl with water, with the potatoes still bobbing inside. I moved them around, using my hands to scrub off the dirt. Soon, I had five clean potatoes and a bowl of murky brown water. I poured the water down the drain, washed the bowl, and returned it to the cupboard.

I looked at Fred's bedside clock again. It was 7:00am. I had spent a whole hour picking potatoes and cleaning them! I chuckled silently as Fred moaned 'Don't take away my doll…' snored and rolled over. Birds were singing the dawn chorus and a cockerel called loudly. Osrie1 yawned, and sat up, rubbing his eyes blearily. He lay back down, yawning.

"Come on Osrie1, wake up, look at the sun outside," I moaned, remembering how Osrie1 woke me up yesterday in a similar fashion. I dragged him off the bed, and he fell on the floor on his bottom with a thump. He yawned, sat up, and hit me playfully on the shoulder. Farmer Fred woke up with a start, mumbling "watsgoinon?" I went into the kitchen, whistling cheerfully to myself. Osrie1 stumbled after me, moaning and moving like a zombie. After a while, Farmer Fred came in, turned on the tap, and splashed water on his face.

"That's better. Now chaps, what's for breakfast?" Farmer Fred asked. "How about scrambled eggs and cooked meat?" I and Osrie1 nodded vigorously. He laughed, and went out to get an egg from the chicken coop. He went back inside, and got some raw meat from the cupboard. He put the raw meat on the range. It sizzled, and the house filled with the wonderful smell of cooking meat. My mouth watered at the smell. He then got a bowl from the open cupboard, and he broke the egg in the bowl. The bowl was now full of white stuff and several orange lumps. But, Fred put the bowl next to the sizzling meat, and the egg bubbled. He put two plates and two knives and forks in front of us, and sat down. After a few minutes, he stood up, put his trusty leather gloves on, and picked up the three pieces of meat. They were brown and cooked. He picked up the bowl. It was full of delicious-looking crispy scrambled egg. He used the ladle to spoon some egg onto both our plates. He slapped the meat next to our egg, and wolfed down the third piece. Osrie1 began to eat his food with gusto. I ate my own food. It was quite delicious, but felt like cotton in my mouth. I was very nervous about talking to Duke Horacio. I wondered whether it was worth trying to take down the highwayman. After all, he must be tough if he can evade several guards stronger then him. Anyway, he is weak, so I wondered if he had strengths that the guards didn't have. I finished my breakfast, and sat up. It was getting a bit noisier outside. I looked, and gasped at what I saw.

The sun was up, but now it was shrouded in complete darkness. The clouds were black and swirly, and there were several claps of thunder in the air. The clouds had a mix of purple in them. It looked like darkness was shrouding the world. Passing people were looking at the sky, scared. The darkness was paticuarly bad in one spot, in the distance. I decided to get on my way. But then, suddenly, a black bolt of lightning fell from the sky. It hit me in the head. I felt dizzy. It didn't hurt, but I felt sleepy, so sleepy, so sleepy……..I fainted there on the spot.

_The black knight stood in a small room, tapping his foot impatiently. The room was windowless, and had a wooden table and chair in the corner. The walls were black, and grimy. The knight was waiting for someone. Then, a man in long red robes came in. It was Master Samuel._

"_Thank you," the knight said, grinning nastily. Master Samuel was holding what looked like a large brown bundle. It was moving. He opened it, revealing it to be a sack. A mage in a blue cloak fell out. She was tied and gagged. She was screaming, but it was muffled from the black cloth in her mouth. Master Samuel left, saying "Enjoy the torture," behind his back. The knight took off his helmet, his plate body, and his plate legs. He put them and his black scimitar on the table. He stood there in a grey shirt, grey trousers, leather boots, and a large leather belt with a buckle. He took a black dagger from his pocket. He took off the mage's blue boots. Using his dagger, he cut her foot badly. Scarlet blood went everywhere, travelling in rivulets. He grinned evilly again. The mage was trying vainly to scream._

"_So, you are from the Herblore centre in the wizard's tower? Well, we need a potion. Let me show you which one we need you to make for us. The dark wizards are trying to work on it, but no hope." He took a small book from the mage's pocket. He opened it to a particular page. He showed it to her. She opened her eyes wide, and shook her head violently._

"_Very well, you refuse to help us make the potion. I am forced to use torture," he said, grinning evilly. He put his foot up, and with his big leather boot, and stamped on the bleeding cut foot. The mage screamed, and began crying silently. He looked at her, pointing at the page. She shook her head again. He sighed, and stamped on her foot again. After five more stamps, the foot looked a state. Blood everywhere, toes broken, foot twisted and mangled. _

"_You still refuse to help? Very well, maybe a different form of torture will make you talk." Still smiling wickedly, he grabbed her, and pushed her against the wall. She screamed as she saw him unbuckle his belt. _

I woke up with a jolt. I was lying on the floor of the barn. I was surrounded with chickens. Farmer Fred and Osrie1 were kneeling next to me. The black clouds were gone.

I sat up. "What happened?" I asked shakily. Osrie1 cleared his throat.

"Well, a black bolt of lightning hit you in the head, and you fainted. The black clouds cleared up after that. You were twitching and we were panicking," Osrie1 replied.

"Well, I had a strange nightmare. Listen to this," I said. I began explaining about the black room, the mage, Master Samuel, the potion, the torture….everything. Both f them stared at me, wide-eyed.

"Oh dear. You tell us it felt so real, well it might be a vision, not a nightmare. When you have finished with your highwayman interview, you should go to the wise old man of Draynor village. He has travelled the world, and is very knowledgeable. But, people don't trust him as much as they used to. But, for now, you should rest in my house," Farmer Fred said nervously. I nodded my thoughts far away.

I remembered the nightmare. The man wanted a potion of some sort, but he must want it badly to torture the mage. He mentioned dark wizards and the look of terror on the mage's face when she saw the potion was hard to forget. He felt like something very evil and strange was going on, but what was going on? He just didn't know…….


	21. Chapter 21: The Wanted Highwayman

_**Chapter 21: The Wanted Highwayman**_

I sat inside Farmer Fred's house. It was late morning. I thought about the nasty nightmare I had. It was about this mage who had been kidnapped and had been tortured for information about a particular potion. I had been wondering what was so important about this potion. I checked in the Herblore section of my magic book for some evil potion that was hard to make, but I couldn't find any potion of that kind. I wondered and wondered until I felt like my head was going to explode with questions. I sighed, and sat up. Farmer Fred and Osrie1 were in the back. Farmer Fred was teaching Osrie1 how to farm. I went behind, and spotted Osrie1 picking dirty potatoes and putting them in a sack, with Fred and the tool leprechaun watching.

"Are we ready to go to Duke Horacio?" I asked. He nodded.

"As long as we split the cash two ways," he replied. I nodded.

"Do you really think I would keep 1,000gp to myself?" I grinned. He handed his farming tools to the tool leprechaun, who then disappeared in a puff of green smoke. We said our goodbyes and thanks to Farmer Fred, and left the farm.

We walked into Lumbridge. It was bustling, as usual, and the shop was just opening for the day. We walked into the castle courtyard. There were people everywhere. People were filling buckets and bowls with water from the fountain, people were sitting on the benches, chatting, and one person was walking around with a _huge wolf _following him. But then, something happened that shocked me-a puff of smoke went in the middle of the courtyard, and a most peculiar creature appeared in front of me.

The creature was small and red, with red wings. It was scaly, and had cheeky blue eyes. It was only level 2. It was holding a small sword. It squeaked, and flapped around. But just then, Madrey1 came from behind us.

He was covered with mud and blood, and his once shining red armour was now grimy. He shoved us aside as he passed. He snorted at the squealing creature, muttering 'Stupid imp,' under his breath. He drew his sword, and beheaded the poor helpless imp with one swift motion. The imp dropped a ball of wool and a pile of ashes. He took them both, and muttering, he entered the castle.

We stepped inside the castle. There was a guard standing there, keeping an eye out for trouble. Another guard was chatting to Madrey1. I listened to the conversation.

"So, why are you covered in mud and blood?" the guard asked madrey1.

"I was in the swamp, killing rats for meat, and then the rats eyes turned red, and they started attacking me!! They were only level 3 and 6, but for Saradomin's sake they were tough! They ambushed me, and it was hell trying to kill them all. They just kept coming!!" he complained. The guard nodded.

"Well, I have got to go. There is this person pick pocketing men and women south of town," he said, before marching out the castle. Madrey1 followed him, muttering.

We walked down the corridor, and we found the kitchen door open. The cook was pacing the kitchen, looking nervous. He was pale, and his cook outfit was dishevelled.

"Wait!!" he called as we passed. "Can you help me?"

"Yes…." I said, pausing. He sighed.

"Thank Saradomin! It is the duke's birthday today. I am supposed to make him a cake, but I forgot to go and get the ingredients? Could you get me an egg, a pot of flour and a bucket of milk? I would be very grateful," he said, looking at me.

"Sure, I'll help you," I replied cheerfully. "But first, I got a task I need to do. Could you wait?"

"Of course I'll wait! Just try not to keep it too late," he cried happily. I smiled, and walked up the stairs. Osrie1 followed.

"We went to the duke's room. The orange shield gleamed in its case. I wondered what that shield was. Madrey1 had it, the duke had it, and Sir Vant had it. What was it supposed to do? I promised myself I'd solve that mystery, along with a dozen other mysteries. The duke was chatting to the man in a blue suit. He noticed us. He stopped talking abruptly.

"Hello, I was just talking to Sigmund here about a problem in the castle cellar. Can I help you?" he asked cheerfully.

"Yes you can. I read in the papers about a Highwayman on the loose. I'd like to come and help you to fight it," I said.

"Very well, I'll sign you up for the job. Now, a warning: this highwayman is skilled in an ability called agility. Our guards could take him out with a swipe of a sword, but he is _too fast_ for them, with all their heavy armour. Maybe some quick young people such as you could take him out? I know you two are a smidge too weak for him, but with you two and our newbie guard, we can take him out. And, I promise you the cash reward at the end," the duke explained. I nodded.

"Where should we start looking?" I asked.

"Well, we have already tracked him. He should be at the crossroad just past the windmill. But, please beware while fighting him. It's mainly because supporters of Zamorak are acting strange. They are grouping up and whispering and the creatures are losing their own free will. You've seen the rats, and the dragon," the Duke whispered to me and Osrie1 and Sigmund. I opened my mouth to tell the Duke about my nightmare, but I stopped in mid-breath. I decided against telling the Duke. The Duke might start getting suspicious, and he might research. The last thing I wanted was the duke as an enemy. I just nodded, and dragging Osrie1 by the arm, left the room.

Half an hour later we were near Farmer Fred's farm. He didn't seem to be home. There was a level 10 guard clad in steel armour and holding a steel mace. He nodded and we walked down the path. We passed the grain field, the potato field, and then we were at the crossroad. One direction led up ahead, and I could see a cabbage field in the distance. The path to our left led past a grain field, and a house blocked further viewing. To our right we could see a lot of dead trees, and the green soil was turning brown. I shivered at the sight. We just stood there, and waited for any sign of the highwayman.

We waited and waited and waited. We waved to passing people. For lunch we picked potatoes and had to eat them raw. We couldn't leave our post to find a range, because we might miss the highwayman. Just then, when I was on the verge of giving up, a black flash whizzed by us.

"Arm yourself!! He is here," the guard yelled, wielding his 2-h. I and Osrie1 picked up our swords and shields wearily. Osrie1 took out some air runes and mind runes. Then, a blast of fire missed me by inches. The black flash whizzed by us again.

"Hot enough for you?" a creepy, sinister voice said. With s black flash, the highwayman stood in front of us in his full glory.

He looked just like his picture. He wore a highwayman's mask. He wore a cream shirt and cream trousers. He wore black gloves that seemed to whisper to the air. He wore simple black cloth shoes. But then, he turned around, so we could see his cape properly. It was purple, with a picture of a highwayman mask on it. The guard gasped.

"You-you-you have a thieving skill cape!!" He gasped. The highwayman sniggered, and nodded.

"And also I am wearing gloves of silence. They are generally meant for pick pocketing, but combined with my steel sword they will silence all three of you," the highwayman hissed. He jumped in the air, a black flash. He landed right behind me, holding a steel sword. He swerved around, and attempted to behead with me with his sword. I was too fast, and it hit the shield. I tried to hit him with my bronze sword, but it clashed with his steel sword. The guard tried to knock the highwayman out with the steel mace, but he missed. Osrie1 conjured up an air strike, but it hit, and didn't damage. The highwayman moved in between us as quick as the wind, making it impossible for us to hit him.

He then did something shocking and evil. He grabbed the guard's mace, and clobbered him across the head with it. The guard gasped, and collapsed on the floor. The highwayman slit his throat, making blood dribble down the guard's neck. He took off the guard's armour, and put it in a large sack.

"Now it is your turn," he hissed, moving towards us. We backed away. He pounced, and knocked us over. "Oh and I forgot to say, stand and deliver!!!" he yelled. He was about to kill us with his sword, but then, there was a puff of smoke, and there stood a man.

The man was very short. He had a small grey beard, and he was holding a glass of beer. He wore a small iron chain body. He stumbled around, and then concentrated on the highwayman.

"Mate, come here and have some of the good old stuff!" he said, burping.

"No. Go away, midget, I don't want your beer and kebab. I'm busy," the highwayman snapped. The dwarf's cheerfulness evaporated that instant.

"Me hates you!!" he roared, taking an adamant pickaxe from his pocket. He charged forward, and hit the highwayman hard on the shins with it. The highwayman cried out in pain, and fell on the floor. The dwarf strike again, this time on the head. The highwayman slipped away from the third crash, and tried to stab the dwarf in the gut. The dwarf evaded it, and struck the highwayman hard in the crotch. The highwayman crawled away, begging for mercy. He quickly accepted the kebab and beer. The dwarf disappeared in a puff of smoke, grunting. Just that moment, at least a dozen guards charged forward.

They clobbered the injured highwayman to death. He was too weak from the drunken dwarf's attacks to give up. They abandoned the body to rot. They took back his sack of stolen stuff. They found over 10,000 coins in there, along with full steel, including the mace, 45 nature runes, and a bar of silver.

An hour later, we were in the duke's room, being thanked over and over again.

"That highwayman was such a nuisance. He was killing our innocent citizens, and the council of King Roald were threatening to kick me from the Lumbridge throne if I didn't catch him. Now, I give you your reward of 1,000gp," he said, giving us a sack full of gold coins. Osrie1 opened the sack and eyed the coins greedily. We went into the courtyard and sat on a bench.

"Wow, 500gp of my very own!!" Osrie1 said a gleam in his eye. I nodded my mind far away in that little cramped room where the mage was being tortured.

We spent the rest of the day searching for the cook's ingredients. It was easier then I thought. Farmer Fred gave us the milk and a fresh egg, and we made our own flour in the windmill. . That evening we went to the cook's kitchen in the castle, and offered him the ingredients.

"Why thank you!! This will stop me being sacked!!" he said happily, leaping up and down. He gave us two scrolls. They read:

**Congratulations, you have completed the cook's assistant quest!! You have earned:**

**500 cooking experience **

**The ability to use the cook's range**

**The gratitude of the cook**

"Also, I just popped down the shops and I bought three newspapers. Why not take one each?" he said kindly, handing us both a newspaper. My jaw dropped when I saw the headline.

**Lumbridge paper 2gp**

_HERBLORE HEAD FROM WIZARD'S TOWER KIDNAPPED!!!_

_The kind witch from the wizard's tower has been kidnapped by evil black knights. _

_Eyewitnesses report seeing her being carted off by two black knights and a monk of Zamorak. She was screaming something about refusing to give information, the witnesses say. _

_The paper is baffled by this. So many strange, evil happenings have been going on the last few days. Rats attack Tutorial Island, a three-headed dragon is found in a Lumbridge basement, and now a kidnap by two black knights!! The dark magicians near the champions' guild are acting strange. They are not as bloodthirsty as they usually are. They appear to be wrapped up in a voodoo ritual. The paper doesn't know what to think. Some people report seeing a black thunderclap hit a poor level 4 bystander. _

_This reporter hasn't a clue what is going on._

_Written by, Story Rover_

I gazed, dumbfounded, at the front page. So the poor mage in my dream was the Herblore master in the wizard's tower. So, tomorrow that added to my list of chores in the wizard's tower. Find the skull of the restless ghost, give the strange talisman to the head…..and find out more about the kidnapped mage. I would go up to the bank, put my money away, put my potatoes away, and take out the talisman. I would go to the restaurant to buy myself a meal, and then I would sleep in the hotel, since farmer Fred might not let me sleep in his house for another night in a row. Then, the next morning, I was off to one place-the wizard's tower.


	22. Chapter 22: Halloween with Maggie

_Happy Halloween 2008!**

* * *

**_

_**Chapter 22: Halloween with Maggie**_

I woke up the next morning, groaning. After rubbing the sleep out of my eyes and shaking the just-got-out-of-bed feeling off, I sat up and looked around. I and Osrie1 have slept in the Lumbridge Hotel overnight. Our bags lay sprawled over the floor. As I got out of bed and picked up my bag, I realised Osrie1 wasn't here. I decided he'd probably gone off to breakfast without me. I yawned, stretched, and went out the door. I could faintly hear cheering.

A few minutes later, I was standing in the middle of the castle courtyard. It was very crowded and noisy. Osrie1 wasn't in sight in the mob of cheering people. Then, the cheers grew to a very high Crescendo, and I saw a cart being pulled by two bony Oxen. The cart was draped with purple silk, and there was a green mist in the air. Then, a face popped out the side of the cart.

The face was of a witch. She wore a high pointed purple hat, but she didn't have the ugly features of a witch. Her skin was tanned and smooth, and she had the most marvellous smile. There was a pumpkin speared on the top of the cart. She hissed, and bats materialised around the cart, followed with a dark light. The bats flew off.

"Happy Halloween!!" the witch yelled, and the crowd whooped, chanting, "Maggie, Maggie, Maggie…."

She smiled and waved, but when she spotted me among the crowd, her mouth fell open.

She stopped the cart, and jumped out. She fought her way through he crowd towards me, using magic to hold the eager fans back.

"Come with me," she whispered urgently in my ear. The crowd booed me, complaining that they found no reason why the famous Maggie would select a noob to come on a ride with her. I clambered into the cart, bewildered.

There were two squashy sofas in the cart. There was another witch sitting down on one with a purple cat on her lap. The cat eyed me suspiciously. There was a cauldron in the middle of the sofas with green, strange-smelling liquid inside.

"Hello there, this is Wendy, my dressing girl," Maggie said happily, gesturing for me to sit down.

"Why did you select me to come in with you instead of some other person?" I asked cautiously.

"It is because I sense an unknown power around you. You appear to have the Trace of Magic on you. A Trace I have never seen before. Say child, have you ever heard of Halloween?" Maggie asked. I nodded. I had a faint memory of Halloween, which involved scary stuff, and knocking on people's doors, saying trick or treat.

"What about it? Is it Halloween?" I asked. Maggie nodded, cackling happily.

"Tonight, trick or treating begins for a few days, and the decorations will be put up soon. You see, I want to go trick or treating, but my oxen have fallen ill. They can't handle much more carrying the cart, so as soon as I find a place to settle down, I need to take care of them. Maybe you could do me a favour?" Maggie suggested. I nodded, eager to hear more.

"I came down to Asgarnia to sample the Halloween candy. If I give you the trick power, and a costume, will you go trick or treating for me?" she asked. I nodded.

"Right, take some spare wizard's robes. They are very suitable for trick or treating," Maggie said. She handed me some folded wizard robes, along with a wizard's hat. There were all black. Then, she handed me six pumpkin-shaped pots.

"All will be explained in time. Now, child, take a look into the cauldron," she cackled. Even though this woman was a witch I felt like I could trust her. I looked into the swirling green liquid. An overwhelming feeling went over my entire body, and bats came from nowhere and circled me. A black light engulfed me, and the bats flew out of the cart and out of sight. The cart stopped abruptly. I stepped outside the cart.

We were in a clearing near Farmer Fred's house. We were right next to the mud path that lead up to Draynor Village. I turned to Maggie.

"To make the trick power come again, think of using it. It's very simple once you get used to it," Maggie smiled. I filled my head with bats and the thought of Halloween, and suddenly I was engulfed again with bats and black light. I tried the black wizard's robes on. They felt pretty comfortable. I turned to Maggie for a more in-depth explanation on trick or treating.

"Well, all you have to do is go around Lumbridge and Draynor and possibly other cities, wearing those robes. Knock on every door, and say 'Trick or treat!' when they open the door. They will give you some candy, or they might ask for a trick. Use that bat power I just gave you to send them jumping out of their socks. If they are impressed enough, you will get a handful of candy. All I want is a pot full of candy, and I will reward you greatly." Maggie gave me a grin. "But don't go trick or treating until tonight. That is the fun of it. It'll be dark, and people will be celebrating. That will scare them more. Now, good luck! If you need me, I will be right in here, in my cart. Now, take some breakfast." She produced a meat sandwich from her robes. My mouth watered, and with quick thanks, I guzzled down my breakfast. I hadn't had meat sandwich since I was on Tutorial Island, and it seemed tastier on the mainland.

With a bounce in my step and a stomach full of food, I jogged merrily down the mud path to Draynor, still wearing my dark wizard robes.

I spent that day exploring Draynor. I didn't go in any of the houses, or knock on any of the doors. I would explore a bit more in depth later. I visited the market. There were a few stalls, with level 27 guards in steel and guard suits, watching the market. There were master farmers, men and women, and even a few pigs. Two stalls had seeds on them, one stall had jugs and bottles of strange-smelling liquid, and one stall had….toys! I jumped with glee, and ran towards the stall to get a closer look.

There toy horses piled up on one end of the stall, four different colours. There were a few kites strapped down with steel bands so they wouldn't fly off. There were sticks and plates there, and my eyes widened in surprise as I saw the last end.

There was a simple wooden crate standing there. I peeked inside and saw strange clothes. There were lots of neatly folded capes with pictures of bunny rabbits on them. There were several rings with small Easter eggs on them. There were sinister hoods, sharp-looking scythes, pumpkin masks, snow globes, scary skeleton outfits, comical chicken outfits, and lots more. A man with a strange hat saw me looking in the box. He leaped over.

"Howdy, the name's Diango, and I'm the owner of this stall. Can I help you?" he asked. I nodded.

"How much do there outfits cost?" I asked.

"Them? The event rewards? They're free!" Diango said gleefully.

"Alright then, I will have one of all these outfits," I said. Diango chuckled.

"You need to complete a seasonal event before you can get these. Like now, if you go trick or treating, you earn a new suit, and I allow you to pick some older ones. There are four events- Halloween, Christmas, Easter, and New Year's Day. The New Year's Day event is very short, and happens at the same time as the Christmas one. The rewards are usually New Year's candy, fireworks, and the only piece of clothing there has been to date is the seasonal hat." Diango plunged his hand to the bottom of the box, and withdrew a dragon mask. Its teeth were bared, and it looked quite menacing. "Fireworks are considerably new. They were invented by Aggie the witch just in this village, using a mix of chemicals, wood, rope, and dragon fire. I can show you one," he said. From a crate under the stall, he took out a large rocket. It had a small piece of string sticking out, and a large piece of wood.

"So I need to go trick or treating before I can pick an outfit?" I asked timidly. Diango nodded.

"If you lose your outfits, I can also give replacements," he said. I nodded, and thanked him.

"Also, I give a present to every new player. Do you want to have a free kite, a toy horsey, a clockwork soldier or doll, or a spinning plate?" Diango asked kindly. I looked in awe at all these expensive toys. I didn't know which one to pick. In the end, I settled to have a white toy horsey. As I walked to the nearby bank, I stroked the smooth, warm wood. I felt so happy that I had been given a free toy horse instead of having to pay for one.

As I put my toy in the bank, I looked at the sky. It was getting late, and the clock in the bank told me it was evening. People were putting on different clothes-wizard clothes, dragon masks, Halloween event clothes, priest gowns, and one person had gotten his hands on a ghost mask. I went outside, and saw the house right in front of me. I shuddered, and knocked.

The door opened. It was a man in blue robes, wearing a very nice blue party hat. He had a long, white, bushy beard, but he didn't look very happy at the sight of me.

"Trick or treat!" I said nervously.

"Ha, I'd like to see a trick from the likes of you!" the man said. I filled my head with the thought of bats and darkness. I willed myself to trick. Then, the space around me swirled with black light, and bats went flying from nowhere. People stopped to gasp at me. The man roared with fright, and jumped back.

"Where on earth did you learn to do that?" he commented. "Here, take this treat. You've earned it!" He went back in his house, and came back holding a hollow pumpkin full of candy. He took a handful out and gave it to me. I put it in my shaped pot.

"I am the Wise Old Man or Draynor, by the way. If you want a chat, don't hesitate to come and ask!" he said, before closing the door. I looked at my sweets more thoroughly.

There were several popcorn balls there. I took one small one out, and popped it in my mouth. It reminded me of honey, and it was deliciously crunchy. I decided I liked popcorn balls. There were two smallish wrapped candies. They smelt wonderful. And, there was one small chocolate bar. I snapped off a corner, and ate it. It melted in my mouth, and it tasted glorious. There was one lolly, which I decided to save for later. I continued down the street to the market.

I went to the merchant who sold strange drinks. I was about to say trick or treat to him, when a figure charged past me. It was Madrey1. He was wearing a black party hat, skeleton top, long, dark robes, and a scythe.

"Trick or treat!" he bellowed to the merchant. The merchant mumbled something about a trick. Madrey1 grinned, and slashed the merchant's arm with his scythe. "Will that do?" madrey1 yelled. The merchant, who looked close to tears, took out a huge jug full of candy. He grabbed a fistful, and shoved it into madrey1's hands. I rushed forward, and took out my healing tonic. I dripped a few drops onto his slash wound, and he sat up.

"Thank you," he said. "Here, take this." He put several fistfuls of candy into my pot. "And, for thanks for helping me, you can have this. Don't drink too much though!" He handed me a bottle of the smelly liquid. "My finest wine," he announced proudly. "My name is Fortunato, and I am one of the most respected wine merchants in RuneScape!" I shook his hand, and sat back down on his gilded chair. I put the bottle in my bag. I went forward to the seed stall. The woman there smiled kindly, and gave me a small handful of candy from a basket at her feet. I went on to Diango.

"Hello again," he said cheerfully to me as I approached. "I'd like to see you trick me," he added, knowing what I was about to say. I grinned, and focused my mind on the trick. The black light engulfed me, and bats circled me before flying off. Diango jaw dropped. Wordlessly, he motioned towards the hollow pumpkin filled with sweets behind him. I took a handful, and put it in the pot. I looked in.

The pot was now half full. There were several popcorn balls, wrapped candies, chocolate bars, chocolate drops, purple wrapped sweets, and there was a strange packet at the bottom. I took it, and opened it. Several white pieces fell into my hand. I ate one. A strange sensation filled my mouth. It was very chewy, and quite minty. Diango spotted me trying the strange sweet.

"That came in a strange shipment from a bloke called Ilookgood99. He wouldn't tell me where it came from," Diango said, shaking his head. I nodded, and went down the street, past the bank.

I went to the other side of the village. I knocked on several doors, and different men and women answered. Some of them wanted me to trick them, which I did marvellously. I filled up my pot and another one with the sweets they gave me. There wasn't another sign of the minty sweet. I arrived at a house, and I knocked the door. A witch answered it.

This witch looked nothing like Maggie. She had warts all over her nose and cheeks, and her skin had an unpleasant green tinge to it. Her hair was greasy and unkempt, and her nose looked like it had been broken several times.

"Trick or treat!" I said.

"Trick," she answered back immediately in an unpleasant, oily voice. I filled my head with bats, and of course, I tried to spook her with my new power. She barely blank, looking at me expectantly.

"That's an old witch power that was invented by the famous Maggie. That's not a trick," she said irritably. "Here, take a firework and a chocolate bar and get out of my sight." She gave me another rocket and a large hunk of chocolate. She slammed the door in my face. I put the firework in my bag and the chocolate in my pot.

I went around the rest of Draynor, trick or treating. There was one nervous-looking man called Morgan who tried to stab me with a stake before realising I was harmless. He handed me a dozen lollies, looking embarrassed.

Sooner or later I passed the crossroad where I battle the highwayman, and I continued down the path to Farmer Fred's house. I knocked on his door, looking suspiciously at the chickens, hoping they didn't try to attack me. Since the chicken attacked Farmer Fred and injured him, I had developed a fear of chickens. Farmer Fred opened the door, looking shocked at the sight of me.

"Trick or treat!" I said. He withdrew a handful of popcorn balls from a wooden crate behind him. He stuffed it into my hands.

"Thanks," I said to Fred, who nodded. As I left the farm, I heard Farmer Fred mutter nervously.

I continued past the sheep pen and into Lumbridge. The town had changed completely. Pumpkins glowed eerily at me, while paper and wooden skeletons and ghosts hung above me. I knocked at a house. A head popped through the window.

"Hello, I am Story Rover," he said. "Can I interest you in some candy?" he said. I nodded. He took my half-full pot, and went inside. His head popped out again after five minutes. The pot was full with candy, and on the top was a newspaper. And on top of the newspaper were….several mint sweets!

"That's a free newspaper courtesy of me, and those sweets have showed up form nowhere, being delivered by Ilookgood99. There is a story on the front page about them," Story Rover said. I thanked him, and rushed off to the next house.

I tricked the rest of Lumbridge. I chuckled at the fear of the church, I doubled up with laughter as I tricked the Duke, and I filled up the rest of my pots with well-earned candy. I stepped out the castle, still laughing at the face of the cook as he saw my bats fly out the window. I walked up to Maggie's cart, which was still parked near Fred's house. There was an odd, green glow coming from inside. I stepped up to the cart, and knocked on the door. The door flew open. I stepped inside.

Maggie and Wendy were sitting down. Maggie was stroking the purple cat, and Wendy was dropping different ingredients in the cauldron, which was giving off the glow. I looked outside. It was pitch-black, with a full moon giving off an eerie glow. The sky was dotted with stars.

Maggie jumped up at the sight of me. I waved at her.

"Hello, my child. Have you gotten back the candy?" Maggie asked, as the purple cat settled into her seat.

"I have," I said, smiling. I handed her a pot of candy. She took the pot, and smiled at me. She took a popcorn ball, and swallowed it.

"The candy down here tastes very delicious, don't you think?" Maggie asked. I nodded. She put the pot on the seat.

"Now for your reward," she said. "Here is the event reward-some warlock clothes! Of course, Diango the toy shop owner will give you something else." She gave me orange and black matching clothes, which included shirt, cape and trousers. I took off my dark wizard clothes, and put on the warlock kit. I folded the dark wizard robes, and handed them back to Maggie.

"No, my child, you can keep the robes," she insisted, refusing to take them back. "Now, it's time for the second reward. Look into the cauldron for a new scary power," Maggie cackled. I looked into the cauldron again. Another overwhelming power came over me, and suddenly a large, slimy, green hand came from the ground. I jumped back as it grabbed thin air, before disappearing again. I looked really flustered and curious, so Maggie said she'd explain about emotes later.

"Your third reward is this," she said. From under the seat she took out a long, thin broomstick. It looked worn out and plain and looked quite battered. She handed it to me and I held it, feeling quite foolish.

"That is more powerful then you take it for," she explained. "You can't see it, but it is very, very old. It was made out of the wood of a magic tree, and the end was made out of magic strings. If you take it to witches all around RuneScape, they can enchant it for you. There are twenty enchantments the broom can take before it can be fully used. Nineteen need to be performed by witches across RuneScape, and the last one needs to be enchanted by you yourself, when you have sufficient magic experience. Oh, that reminds me…" Maggie trailed off. She took the broom off me, and dipped the end in the cauldron. The cart filled with green smoke, and when it cleared, the broom was looking much cleaner, shinier, and had a small hint of magic around it. "There we are you only need nineteen enchantments!" she said happily.

"Now, here is your fourth and final reward. You must be hungry, help yourself to my magical goulash," she cackled. She handed the broom back to me, and then gave me a bowl from her cloak. I dipped the bowl in the cauldron, and then I had a bowlful of goulash in front of me. I gulped, and Maggie handed me a spoon. I swallowed a spoonful. Warm, delicious food filled my insides, and I felt my hunger evaporate instantly. I swallowed down the rest of the bowl, licking my lips.

"Help yourself, if you want more. And, don't forget, if you ever lose your warlock clothes or your broom, go to Diango and he will gladly give you more. But, if you lose your broom, you'll have to get it enchanted again. I live in a place called Yanille, so you'll have to travel there to get it enchanted by me again," she explained. "Also, I need to explain about emotes. Emotes are special movements you can't do normally. Like, I just taught you the trick and zombie hand emotes. You can get much more. Like, you can only learn how to mime if you help the Mime stadium. Understand?" Maggie asked, and I nodded. I had another bowlful of goulash, took another five bowls for the next few days, thanked Maggie, and left to Draynor.

I went up to Diango wearing my new warlock clothes.

"Well hello again, I see you've completed the event," Diango smiled. "I suppose you want to pick some other Halloween clothes?" he added. I nodded. "OK then, pick out which Halloween clothing you want." He took out a midnight-black evil-looking hood, a long, sharp scythe, a jack-o-lantern mask, a full skeleton set, and several terrifying Halloween monster masks. "You can pick two, and next Halloween you can pick another two," Diango added. After a while, I chose the scythe and the skeleton set. I bid Diango farewell, and went towards the bank.

I put my bronze sword in the bank, deciding to use the scythe as my weapon for now on. I put away my skeleton clothes, my candy, and the wine that Fortunato gave me. Then I spotted the firework that Aggie the witch gave me. I closed my bank account and stepped outside. I used my tinderbox on the rope, and it hissed, and caught fire. I placed it gently on the grass and stepped back, not knowing what was going to happen. When the fire got to the end of the small rope, there was a loud bang, a screech, a hiss and the firework shot straight up into the sky. The whole of Draynor and Lumbridge watched at the rocket flew really high in the sky, and burst into flames, sending colourful sparks flying everywhere, illuminating the night sky. As I watched I decided the next day I would go to the wizard's tower for real, and find out about my strange dream and do some chores.


	23. Chapter 23: The Wizard's Tower

_**Chapter 23: the Wizard's Tower**_

_Several dark wizards were standing in a ruined stone circle, with a strange, evil, glowing altar in the centre. The sky rumbled with thunder, and the rain hammered on the people standing below. The Herblore witch was standing next to the gang, reading from an old textbook. Her hair was dishevelled, and her clothes were filthy. She whimpered every few seconds. "Right," she said nervously, as the dark wizards watched her. "One of the ingredients for this awful potion you want is the essence of Delrith." The dark wizards gasped and gave each other sideways glances. "That requires a complicated spell that only those of evil blood may perform, so for that I cannot help you." The dark wizards muttered to each other for a few seconds, and then they nodded and began fanning out and saying strange words to thin air._

I woke up with a start. I was sweaty, and my clothes stuck to my skin. I had another nightmare. I sat up in bed. In the bed next to me was Osrie1. Last night had been the most exiting night of my life, where I went trick or treating and explored Draynor Village. I set off a firework, a strange invention made by Aggie the Witch of Draynor, which flew up in the sky and filled it with colourful sparks. Afterwards, I found Osrie1 with several pots of candy near the mine, eating happily. We then went off to the hotel where he told me about his night and I told him about mine. All he had done was borrow some priest robes from the church, in exchange for 20gp. He had gone around Lumbridge trick or treating, but he only made one pot of candy, since he couldn't trick many people. I showed him my Halloween emotes and he was terrified.

Today my schedule was, eat some of Maggie's goulash for breakfast, and go to the wizards' tower to do several things. First I wanted to get the skull of the restless ghost back for him, I wanted to show the air talisman to the head, and I wanted to ask around about the Herblore master.

I shook Osrie1 awake, and explained to him about my nightmare.

"Wassa matta mate? It's just a dream," he yawned groggily to me. I sighed, and handed him his breakfast from my bag. Maggie had told me if I wanted more she was there for the next few days. Osrie1 looked disgustedly at the glowing green sludge.

"What the Zamorak is this?" he asked me. I smiled reassuringly at him, and took out another bowl. I took a spoon Maggie had given me, and ate the goulash ravenously. I was very hungry, but the warm, rich food filled my insides. Osrie1 took the spoon I had given him, and, looking reluctant, took a spoonful of goulash.

His disgusted look turned slowly to one of delight. He ate more and more goulash, looking happier and happier with every spoonful. After a few minutes we had finished our food.

"That proves you shouldn't judge things by their look," he told me. I nodded in agreement. I decided to set off to the bank. I went out the room, the door behind us turning back into a stone wall with a glowing hole in a brick. I climbed up the ladder, and Osrie1 followed me. I went across the bridge as the guard saluted us. I went into the bank building and joined the considerably short queue.

Once I was in the front, the bank lady smiled at me, and opened my account. There wasn't much in, and I saw a small pile of gold, a chef's hat, a shiny, sparkling emerald, and several more objects. I put in my neatly folded dark wizard's robes, and my goulash. I closed my bank account, thanked the bank lady, and left for Draynor.

I walked out of Lumbridge, up the mud path, and into Draynor, Osrie1 following me. I scanned the sky with my eyes, and found a shiny marble spiky turret. It leads just past ahead of Draynor. It was only tower I could see for miles, so I went towards it. I passed the bank, I passed some woodcutters cutting down willow trees (there was a dark wizard eyeing me, but I hurried past him). Up ahead there was a black knight. I froze. He was wearing the same kind of armour the people the kidnapped the head Herblore master had on! I tiptoed past him, and he barely spared a glance at me. I hurried past him, and saw a long bridge.

This bridge was made of very shiny, polished blue marble. It leads over a lake that went right around the tower. The tower itself was massive, gigantic, colossal; shiny….it was the most amazing thing I had ever seen. I walked across it, in awe of the amazing architecture of the tower. Outside the polished yew door, there were several level nine, twenty, and forty-five wizards wearing blue clothes. There was a level 10 man, who was wearing a steel plate body, a gold-trimmed wizard's hat, mithril plate legs, and was holding a shiny white two-handed sword. I decided to ask him for help.

"Excuse me-," I began. He looked at me, then yelled, and leaped towards me.

"Aha! A noob! I am Capablanca the noob protector, and I am here to protect you from any dangers that way come to you here. Since the kidnap of the Herblore head, I have been assigned to guide you through this tower. No harm will come to you while I am here!" he shouted, frightening the life out of me. I walked past him, and he followed me and Osrie1.

Inside the first floor was a spiral staircase leading upwards, a rickety ladder leading downwards, and another shiny yew door. I went into the door, and found several wizards, who were poring over books. There were lots of bookshelves and tables and stools, and there was a large model of the galaxy in the corner. I went out the room, Capablanca and Osrie1 hot on my trail. I decided to climb down the ladder into the basement, and I climbed down.

Down here was quite different from above. There were rocks and there were spiky stones all over the walls and ceiling, and it was very grimy. Gulping, I stepped around the corner. Chickens were all over the place, pecking the floor innocently. It was my idea of hell. I crept past the chickens, and spotted a stone door. I opened it quietly, and slipped inside, with osrie1 and Capablanca following me.

Inside the walls and ceiling were still made of stone, but in here it was highly polished. There was a small round table and a carved mahogany chair. There was a small bookcase in the corner, with only a dozen books on them. There were a few chickens in a cage nearby, and on a hat rack there were several wizards' hats, some black (like the one in my wizard robes), some blue, some gold, and one blue with a gold trim. In a glass cabinet with a lock, there was a hunk of grey, sparkling stone, on top of a battered old map. I walked inside, noticing a large stick with an orb on top. The orb was filled with a very strange white mist. I picked the stick up. Capablanca pulled out a hand to stop me.

"We are in the private study of the head wizard of this tower! You'd better leave his mystic staff alone, or he won't be very happy," he warned. I nodded, and put the stick down. But, at that moment, a wave of brown mud came at me from the direction of the door. I was knocked back into the stone wall. I stood up, winded, and saw a very angry-looking wizard brandishing a wand at me.

This man was very old and frail, with a long silver beard. But, there was a spark in his eyes-a spark that showed power, energy, and wisdom. He wore blue wizard robes and a hat with a gold trim, and he held a pouch full of runes in his hand. He was level 156. He roared with anger.

"How dare you touch my staff?" he roared, grabbing his staff. He sent a wave of flames towards me. I yelped, and dodged the flames. He sent a powerful blast of light at me, and I dodged it. Capablanca jumped forward, and took the next wave of water. He fell backwards, and jumped back up.

"Mainiac97 didn't do anything with your staff, Sedridor!" Capablanca yelled. Sedridor looked at him doubtfully. "Are you sure, Capablanca? I saw him holding it."

"But sir, he was only looking. He is a noob, after all," Capablanca pointed out. Sedridor sighed, and sat down.

"So, what did you come here for?" Sedridor asked.

"Well, there are several reasons why I came. The first is this." I showed him the Duke's talisman to him. "Do you have any idea of what it is?" I asked. Sedridor gasped.

"That, my friend, is a most sacred magical object! I sense its power…. Hang on a second," he muttered. "This will take a large amount of study. I have been researching a secret, a secret so secret that many centuries ago; this tower was burnt to the ground to avoid anybody finding out about it. I have a research package that I could complete if I can just borrow this. Could I have it? If you visit this sacred site again, I shall give the package, including the talisman. You could pass it on to somebody else," he suggested. "For now, just inform the Duke that you gave it to me." I nodded, and he pocketed the talisman.

"Also, I wanted to ask, have you seen any skulls lying around?" I asked. Sedridor gave me a look of great interest.

"Up ahead there is the dark wizard's secret room. I am an enemy of the dark wizards, but unfortunately, the master of magic, who lives far away, in Yanille, gave them permission to study here. I have no power to overrule the word of the master of magic, so therefore I cannot stop them from staying in their room. Saradomin knows what kind of evils they are cooking up in there. You are most likely to find a skull in their room, since it is an ingredient in most evil potions. Nobody here would ever use a skull in potion or magic, so you are most likely to find it in there," Sedridor said. I nodded.

"The last thing I wanted to ask is do you know anything about the kidnap of the Herblore head?" I asked. Sedridor's face darkened.

"Of course I know about her kidnap!" Sedridor muttered. "Some black knights kidnapped her! It's quite unusual for the black knights to be interested in us. The world is getting plagued by evil, death, and mystery. Have you seen creatures getting restless? The ghosts, the zombies, the spiders, the dragons….it is all strange. Some people seem to be more evil then usual. Like, the dark wizards, and the black knights. The knights have been blackmailing the white knights for a while about something. And, dark wizards seem to be doing some kind of ritual. All across the world it is happening….in the wilderness, in the stone circle near Varrock, and even here!" Sedridor muttered darkly. "I don't know why they kidnapped her, but all I do know is that they need her desperately for something."

It was then that I considered telling him about my dreams. The one where the black knights were torturing that innocent witch, when the dark wizards were forcing her to tell them about the mysterious potion …..

In the end I told him everything. About my dreams, my suspicions, everything I could remember. He listened to me patiently, before he waved me off, thanking me for the talisman.

I walked further down the corridor, with Capablanca and Osrie1 following me. I passed a wizard in dark robes and a black wizard's hat. He glared at me as he passed.

At the end of the passage, I saw two rotting doors, hanging off their hinges. Here, the walls were especially grimy, and the rock floor was bumpy, like a mountain path. One door had black light going underneath it, and was locked when I tried to open it. The other door collapsed when I grabbed the handle.

Inside there was an altar and a bloody skeleton in the corner. There was a dagger in the skeleton's hand. The altar, however, looked different. The golden bowl on top of the altar was rusty, and the water was grimy. The altar looked like it was made of very weak cardboard. At closer inspection, I saw two rusty gold hinges by the side. I realised this wasn't a real altar, but a box. I opened the hinges, and inside I saw a skull.

I realised this was the ghost's skull, since it was the only one I could see so far. I picked it up, but then, the altar/box collapsed. Then, as I was about to leave, I heard a screech from behind me.

I turned around slowly, and saw the skeleton. The eye sockets had red lights in them, and the red eyes looked murderous. I realised it was level 27. I stepped back cautiously. Capablanca had run away, and Osrie1 looked horrified.

The skeleton screeched again, and lunged towards us. I dodged just in time. Osrie1 bravely fired an air strike at the skeleton, only for it to glance off the skeleton's bones. I swiped my scythe at him. It must have caused some damage, because I felt the skeleton lose five hit points, and screech in apparent pain. The skeleton charged forward, and knocked into me. Winded, I crawled in the corner, as Osrie1 desperately fired another air strike. It hit the skeleton, who lost two hit points, and screeched again. I saw fireworks rise around Osrie1, and he seemed to have raised a magic level. He grinned, took out some body runes and other runes. He fired a flash of purple at the skeleton, which ceased from swiping at me with its dagger, and stumbled around, confused. I checked my magic guide, to find out that Osrie1 had cast the spell confuse. It confused the foe temporarily, leaving it prone to attack. I smiled, and swiped at it again with my scythe. It lost two hit points. Osrie1 hit it with several wind strikes, making it lose seven hit points in total. I swiped it again, making it lose one hit point. It snapped out of its confusion, screeched, and ran towards me.

Just then, the door flew open, and a large brown, cracked ball flew towards the skeleton. It screeched one more time, and collapsed into dust. I sighed with overwhelming relief, and fell back, panting. I turned around to see Capablanca standing there, holding a staff of magic, with his white two-handed sword in his belt. He smiled. I thanked him, before picking up the skull that lay on the floor. I put it in my backpack. He informed me the spell I just saw was crumble undead, a spell used

I walked back down the corridor and back up the stairs back into the tower itself. I saw some more logs on the floor. I saw another ladder that led up. I climbed up the ladder.

There was a man nearby wearing strange armour that looked like it was made of strong wood. A nearby open door revealed a man wearing wizard's robes and hat, pacing around the room, muttering to him. There was a portal nearby, next to a sign that read 'Rune crafting guild-for people over level 50 rune crafting only!' I passed the portal, and saw a closed door with the words 'Herblore centre' on it. Heart hammering with anticipation, I knocked a few times on the door.

"WHO'S THERE? YOU MAY NOT ENTER WITHOUT PERMISSION!" a nervous-sounding man yelled.

"I am mainiac97, this is Osrie1, and here is Capablanca the noob protector, and I ask permission to enter!" I half-yelled back through the door. There was some muttering, and then the door unlocked and opened in front of me.

There was a large table with several comfortable-looking chairs behind it. There was a bookshelf filled with large, dusty old tomes about plants and potions. There were two open cupboards. One was full of glass vials, and the other was full of glass jars with potion ingredients. There was a jumpy-looking short man sitting on a chair. He was holding a jar filled with gummy-looking weeds. He jumped, and the jar of plant fell on the floor, smashing and sending the contents flying all over the floor.

"Hello there," I said cheerfully to him. He gave me a searching look, before replying.

"I am the d-deputy h-h-head of the Herblore department of the wizard's tower. As you know, of c-course, the head has been m-mysteriously kidnapped by b-b-black knights, and the guards can't find a trace of her. She is a brave w-w-woman, so I am p-pretty sure s-she wills b-b-b-be OK," the man stuttered. I looked at him pityingly.

"Well, all I wanted to ask is this. Do you know anything about some evil potion that needs a portion of the essence of Delrith to complete?" I asked. The man jumped.

""I do not know of a-any kind of e-evil potion," he said very nervously. "The d-dark wizards in the b-basement study t-those potions. But, it c-c-can't be g-good if it needs e-e-essence of Delrith t-to complete. Delrith w-w-was a v-very evil demon that and terrorised Varrock m-many years ago. He w-was killed by a great h-hero, and only the m-most evil rituals can b-bring him b-back. But, he w-was a murderer, so nobody in their r-right mind could want him back, especially for s-s-something as trivial as an e-e-evil potion ingredient."

I stood there for several seconds, considering the information I had just taken in. So, Delrith was an evil demon that lived years ago, and kept Varrock in a state of despair? It must be a bad potion if they need essence of this demon to make it. I thanked the stuttering potion-maker for his time and information, and left.

I went up the stairs to the top floor. A strange sight met my eyes. There was total chaos here. There were a few chairs on the floor, with creatures I recognised as imps were screaming with mirth, throwing them around. When they saw me, they bickered comically, and started pelting the three of us with bits of paper. I ran past the giggling imps, around the corner. I yelled for Osrie1 and Capablanca to stay there and take care of the mischievous imps.

It was pandemonium around here. A man in blue robes was screaming in fury as imps stole items from under his hat and his pockets. He was standing next to a strange machine with an amulet-shaped hole in the middle, with beads of different colours in slots around the amulet-shaped one. A few imps grabbed the beads, and disappeared in a puff of smoke. The wizard shot spells pointlessly at the laughing imps, all which were coming from behind a door. I swiping at a few of them with my scythe, I forced myself through the door.

A wizard in dark robes was using a spell to summon imps by the million. They rose around him, landed, and ran towards the door. The room was bathed in a dark light, which was coming from a large, black glass orb floating near the ceiling. There was a bookshelf with several books, several slimy things in jars, several orbs filled with smoke of different colours, and even a rotting, bony hand, congealing on the top shelf on it. In the corner, past a rusty, bloodstained cage, there was a furious-looking demon, smashing uselessly against the bars. In the corner of the bloody and messy cage, there was a skeleton that looked like it has been licked clean.

The demon was gigantic-it had long, horrific horns, scaly, ember-red skin, yellow, rolling, bloodshot, livid eyes, and had the complexion of the devil. It was level 82, and it was roaring, thrashing against the bars of the cage. The dark wizard narrowed his eyes at the sight of me.

"Who are you?" he snapped.

"I am Mainiac97. And, who may I ask, are you?" I replied coldly.

"I am an evil sorcerer Greyzag, who specializes in summoning imps. I am taking out my enemy across the door, who believes my form of magic is 'ridiculous and plainly evil'. I showed him how ridiculous it is! You see that skeleton over there," he said, gesturing towards the skeleton in the demon's cage. "That is the remains of his friend and assistant. I took-or, better yet, my pet here, took- out that idiotic youngster, so full of ideas about good and evil." I backed away, disgusted. Apparently, this man didn't care about what he does, or who he kills, as long as it has a permanent negative effect. I ran away, ignoring the taunts coming from Greyzag.

I saw Osrie1, Capablanca, and the magician fighting the imps. I joined in, slashing at the helpless creatures, who were now getting overpowered. I felt fireworks rise up around me, indicating I had risen to level 3 in strength. With the extra energy, I slashed with more vigour then needed, sending an imp into a wall. When it appeared that Greyzag had given up, we sat down on the upturned seats.

"Well hello there. My name is Mizgog, and I am a wizard elder of the tower. I have dabbled in strange magic's that the others haven't. I use magic's that create objects out of other objects. It is quite top-secret, of course, but Wizard Greyzag in the other room disagrees. He has his own power of summoning imps and demons. He kidnapped my assistant and murdered him using his pet demon!" Mizgog cried.

Wizard Mizgog was a frail old man, but his robes and hat were a dark shade of blue, and his gloves were a strange puce. His eyes looked quite misty, and had a glazed look to them.

"Well anyway, what leads you up here?" Mizgog asked. "And I expected better of you when I hired you, Capablanca! You assured me the safety the safety of the tower while you were around. Wandering off with guests, and when that brute Madrey1 tried to butcher poor Traiborn you got swept away easily!" He then sighed as a terrified-looking Capablanca Muttered something indistinguishable.

"We wanted to pass something to Head Sedridor," I said. "And we wanted to look for a stolen skull. We found it now, but we just came up here out of curiosity. Did those imps steal anything off you?" I asked, concerned for the frail magician on the verge of collapsing.

"They didn't steal anything valuable," Mizgog said, searching his pockets. "My ball of wool is gone, I didn't need that anyway…..I can't find my spare gloves, I never liked them anyway….my coins are gone, I've got more in the bank……my trinkets have been stolen! But I can replace them, and they contain no secrets…." Mizgog muttered, before he screamed. "My coloured beads are gone!!" He jumped up, and emptied his pockets. Smelly nuts, burnt cookies, and a few sparkly shapes fell on the floor. The poor wizard dissolved into tears.

"If someone kills an imp and finds a bead, my secrets are down the drain if they are given in for inspection! There is no hope; imps are good targets for training." Mizgog then sat up, his eyes shining with anticipation. "Unless…..will you two boys look for my beads for me? Kill as many imps as you can, and if you find a bead, give it to me! But there are so many imps in the world; you'll have a hard time finding all four of them. I'll be so grateful if you find them all before those dark wizards." He gave me a begging look, and I felt myself soften towards the frail, helpless old wizard.

"OK," I said. Mizgog jumped up with delight.

"Thank you!" He said joyously. "Capablanca, for your serious lack of judgement, you are dismissed. Good day." He then picked up the silver shapes, and murmured some words. They slowly melded together to form a strange-looking silver bracelet.

"This is a bracelet of power that I just crafted," Mizgog said. "Capablanca shall wear it, and I will craft you more once I get more energy from the beads." He waved us off, and began muttering more words to another silver shape.

I and Osrie1 left the tower, a miserable-looking Capablanca following us.

"I have nowhere to go now!" he cried sadly. "My family are dead, the white knights won't give me another job, and I have been fired from the tower!"

I considered him for a moment. He was stronger then us, and much more useful.

"How would you like to join us?" I asked quietly. He looked up, his eager face gleaming with tears.

"I would love to! Capablanca the noob protector is here, at your service!" He then bowed low to us. I chuckled.

"Next stop I guess is the restless ghost to return his skull. And while we are at it, we should have a word with the Duke about his talisman," I said. But then, something strange happened. A snowflake fell from the pink sky and on my nose. I looked curiously at the sky. It was snowing.

"Well, we should also train," Capablanca said. "But we should also wait for Christmas!" I smiled at the thought. I had a pleasant memory of Christmas…..but my smile vanished. I just remembered a gleaming, rosy, youthful face, wearing a jumper that had a picture of a Christmas pudding on it. I tried to grasp the sudden memory…..I remembered….a shiny metal object with wheels……belching smoke…..I screamed with the pressure I was applying to my brain to remember. I kneeled over, and the memory was gone as soon as it came. Osrie1 and Capablanca looked at me curiously. I sat up, and we set off towards Lumbridge, prepared for a celebration we weren't soon to forget-Christmas.


	24. Chapter 24: Jack Frost

_Happy Christmas 2008!**

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_**Chapter 24: Jack Frost**_

Over the next few days I kept a schedule. I would wake up in the morning in the hotel, meet Capablanca and Osrie1 in the courtyard, and we would have breakfast in the restaurant, courtesy of Capablanca. We would then go across the bridge and train on goblins. My strength raised to 4, my defence raised to 3, my attack raised to 4, and my prayer raised to 3 from burying the goblin's bones. Best yet, my combat rose to 5. One goblin dropped a bronze kite shield, which I tried out, and discovered that it was much more solid and powerful then my wooden shield. I stored the wooden one in my bank.

Because the goblins robbed and pick pocketed the innocent people, they carried quite a bit of money. I had made over 50gp from killing goblins, which I stored in the bank also. I decided I would save up for some proper armour, instead of my kite shield, helmet, and scythe.

I also used ranged to kill ducks in the lake. Naturally, Capablanca used telekinetic grab to scoop up the dead duck, which we either sold, or ate for supper. My ranged level rose to 4, pleasing me a lot.

After we killed for a few hours, we went and visited people. We visited the duke quite often, who, surprisingly, knew Capablanca. He said he'd wait when we repeated what Sedridor said to us. We also visited Father Aereck in the church. The same day we visited the wizard's tower, we went to the restless ghost, placed the skull back in his coffin, and he thanked us, and rested in peace. Father Aereck thanked us, so in gratitude, he blessed us with prayer experience, blessed our beginner amulets so they worked more powerfully, and changed our gravestones into marble tombs. We kept the ghost speak amulets, and put them in the bank. I also went and visited the wizard's tower. Sedridor had nothing to report.

Slowly, RuneScape grew colder. In people's houses, Christmas trees were put up. Snow covered Lumbridge like a white blanket, making the town look like it had jumped right out of a Christmas card. Some travelled to an island out at sea so they could chop down Arctic Pines to put up, and others got previously existing, festive 'Wintumber trees'. Little lights powered by magic were hung up all across Lumbridge, which now felt like home.

The newspaper was getting more and more sinister. Stories of death, disappearances, and animals growing wilder spattered the front page like blood. The paper, as promised, mentioned the minty sweet. I had already eaten the candy, but I kept the minty sweet. I hadn't heard the sentence 'there is something on your back!' for a while now. The doomsayer's eyes filled with tears every time he saw me, though. I had come to the conclusion that he was an attention-seeking fraud.

I had taken up the task that Mizgog from the tower had left me. I had killed every single imp that I had seen. They dropped wizard's hats, ashes, burnt bread, silver shapes, and several other bits and bobs, but no beads.

One morning I woke up as usual, left the hotel, and met Osrie1 and Capablanca in the courtyard. Capablanca had a house in Falador already, while Osrie1 lived with Farmer Fred. They had been close friends for a while, and Farmer Fred had happily let him sleep in the spare bed. Capablanca liked to keep his strength, so he woke up very early in the morning, and ran all the way to Lumbridge. He then went to the training gym, and beat up a combat dummy for ten minutes. They waved at me, and greeted me with usual enthusiasm and wished me a merry Christmas.

We went to the restaurant and had a breakfast of meat sandwiches and eggs (yum!). Capablanca paid for it, and we went across the bridge.

Something was different today. People usually helped out the Duke by killing the goblins, but today was an absolute war. And no wonder, I thought, because all the goblins had red eyes. I hadn't come off looking good the last time I fought possessed goblins, so of course I was reluctant to join in the fighting. I ducked as a rune arrow flew above me and through the neck of a surprised goblin.

The screaming, furious goblins were putting up a good defence. A large group of them jumped on an unsuspecting level 5, and tore him to shreds with their filthy claws, yellowing teeth, or rusty daggers. I ran forward, and hit a level 4 goblin in the side. He had a mark, but he turned around, his teeth bared. I summoned my trick power, and scared the living daylights out of him with a cloud of flapping bats. While he was jumping around in fear, I smashed my scythe into his skull. He collapsed onto the floor, blood seeping out of the crack in his skull. Another goblin rushed forward, but slipped on the ice, and fell in the river. Laughing, I scooped up some bones, several coins, and a useless goblin mail that had appeared on the floor. Dropping the mail, I went to help Osrie1, who was being beaten up by a level 7 goblin who had a club. After we disposed of the goblin, I spotted something coming across the bridge.

An imp was crossing the stone bridge. But this imp was blue. He looked like he had been carved out of ice and turned alive. I rushed forwards with my scythe, wondering if this imp had any beads. The imp talked, in a grumpy, icy voice.

"You want to kill me? I am not a normal imp. I wasn't summoned. I was carved and created, by the ice queen. Every Christmas, the plane between RuneScape and the ice universe get close. That is why it snows, and turns cold. But I am here not to steal, or cause mischief. I am on a mission to look for the prince of ice, Jack Frost," the imp said coldly, looking quite scared at the furious war going on behind me. I hesitated, still suspicious.

"Who is this Jack Frost?" I asked. The imp snorted, water vapour coming from his nose.

"He is a very cold-hearted and rebellious ice prince," the imp replied. "He was curious about this world, so he crossed the plane into RuneScape. The ice queen, unfortunately, told him that under no circumstances was he to go to this universe. The ice world is small, and harmless. This world, however, is merciless, gory, and violent. Just look over there to see what I mean. Jack has already done his fair share of damage to our world," the imp then said.

"Maybe I can help," I said. The imp looked at me reluctantly.

"Maybe you can, but you stand no chance against Jack Frost if it comes to aggression," he pointed out. I bared my fists.

"I'm ready for him!" I shouted.

"If you feel confident enough," the imp sighed. "We snow imps were created so we could play with, work with, and help the ice queen. If you ever need us, you need to communicate with us using this ice amulet." He then picked up a lump of ice next to him. He waved his hands, and it formed into a solid ice necklace. He blew on it, and it loosened up.

The amulet shone with a wintery energy. It was rather shiny, and very pretty. It made the air around it cold. Shards of ice produced from the heart. I took it from the imp, and it felt ice-cold to the touch. It filled me with shivery happiness to wear it.

"Blow on it and it will summon an imp," the snow imp said. "Now, I'd better be off to look for Jack Frost. A hint to help you find him-the amulet will get colder the nearer you are to him." With a puff of freezing air that raised goose bumps on my skin, the snow imp was gone.

I stood there, feeling rather elated. I then noticed that Osrie1 and Capablanca were talking to a snow imp. They wore ice amulets too.

When the imp was gone, I walked towards them. "Where should we start looking?" I asked. Osrie1 just shrugged, while Capablanca yelped excitedly.

"Good noobs, we have been set a mission! We must finish this mission, even if we die in the process!" he yelled. I jumped.

"Do you have any ideas?" I asked.

"Maybe we could ask the Duke," Osrie1 suggested. "He has a lot of power; he could whip up an army to search for Jack at any time."

"That isn't a bad idea, actually," I said thoughtfully. "Let's go and see him."

Less then ten minutes later, we were seated with Duke Horacio in his room. Sigmund sat nearby, glancing at my blood-stained warlock clothes every now and then.

"So, my friends, how may I help you?" the Duke asked cheerfully. I repeated what the imp told us to him, and when I was finished, he was rubbing his beard thoughtfully.

"I have heard of the land of snow, since I met the ice queen myself one day," the Duke said. "She is wife to Santa Claus, who I am friends with. When he came over to visit, he brought her with him, and their cute little baby son, Jack. Of course, that was over 16 years ago, so he would be a rebellious teenager by now. But, if he has run away from home, the ice queen must be worried sick. She doesn't want to lose another member of family, since Santa left her to do his job of delivering presents. Say, could you summon a snow imp?" the Duke said. I obliged by blowing on the amulet. There was a puff of icy steam, and a blue imp stood there.

The imp looked at us expectantly. "What do you want?" he snapped. The Duke looked taken aback.

"I just wanted to ask you about Jack Frost," the Duke muttered, rather angrily. The imp sighed with impatience. He explained the story of Jack's disappearance to him again. The Duke stood up.

"I am going to contact Santa now," he declared. He opened his drawers, and pulled out what looked like a candy cane. The duke muttered some words, holding the cane tightly. Then, suddenly, I felt a pull around my shoulders, and I was lifted up into snowy oblivion.

I flew through snowy whiteness. I had never experienced anything like it before. It felt like I was flying through a snowy morning. Suddenly, I fell onto snow. I felt thuds around me, signalling that Osrie1, Duke Horacio, Capablanca, and the snow imp had arrived safely too. I noticed that the amulet had dropped in temperature. I looked up, and what I saw shocked me quite badly.

There, frozen solid, was Santa's sleigh. It was frozen. There was a frozen look of shock on Santa's face. His reindeers looked comical, suspended in mid air.

"Oh my lord, what has happened to Santa? Who did this to him?" the Duke gasped.

"Why not ask me?" a sinister voice came from behind us. I looked more clearly at our surroundings.

We were on a frozen island. Icicles surrounded us, and the sea was frozen as far as we could see. But, out of the shadows, came the most sinister person I had ever seen in my life.

Jack Frost was a tall, gangly teenager. His clothes were black, all covered in ice and snow. His long, black hair was frozen solid. From his blue skin there were small icicles producing. He had misty, dark blue eyes that reminded you of large icy caves. His mouth had a sneer plastered on it.

"Welcome to my hideout. We, as far as I know, are in the middle of the sea, where no man, woman, or snow imp would bother look. I have made it more homely. You see my fat father over there? He discovered my location, so to stop him blabbing, I froze him. I plan to take control of this world. I will turn RuneScape into IceScape, which will be my home world. I will freeze the planet, and anybody who resists will be frozen too. Now you know my location, I'm afraid I will have to stop you," Jack sneered.

"I must summon the Ice Queen!" The imp yelled. He was about to summon her, when there was a sound similar to glass smashing. A perfect ice model, the imp stood there, a look of anger stuck on his frozen face. Jack laughed. With a flick of his hand, the ice amulets and the Duke's candy cane froze, and collapsed into icy shards.

Jack, with a flick of his hands, froze the Duke. He froze Osrie1, but before he could freeze anyone else, I pounced at him, and hit him with my scythe. He yelled, as blue blood trickled from the cut I made. Anger replaced the sneering indifference on his face. Capablanca then cast a fire bolt, which hit Jack Frost in the face. He yelled again, freezing the flames that were in his hair. With a flick of his hand, I froze.

Every pore in my body screamed in protest; the very air in my lungs seemed to freeze. The cold was agony. Even my brain seemed to have frozen. I couldn't think. Coldness engulfed me like flames. I felt a painful numbness spread through my body. I couldn't move. This coldness kept me rooted to the spot.

I watched in terror as Jack Frost tried, and failed, to freeze Capablanca, since Capablanca was throwing fire bolts everywhere. The ice that Jack was creating to freeze Capablanca melted instantly as it came in contact with a fire bolt. Capablanca, in desperation, sent one at me. The flames hit me in the stomach. The ice protected me from burns. The ice around me began to melt. But Jack yelled, and he tried again to freeze me. Instead, I turned back into myself, and the ice around me shattered.

A very angry Jack got hit, again, by a fire bolt. He yelled, and tried to stop the flames from spreading. As a last-ditch attempt, I got out my woodcutting axe and my tinderbox. I cut down a frozen tree, quickly getting icy logs. Capablanca understood. He hit Jack with another fire bolt, making him yell with frustration. I ran up to him, and lit a fire at his feet. Fireworks told me I had risen to fire making level 3. Thrashing around from the flames in his hair, he stepped into the fire.

Screaming in agony, he froze the fire, extinguished the flames in his hair and feet, and stood up.

He froze Capablanca, but it was too late. Capablanca had defrosted Santa, who stood up, and shook remaining ice off himself. He turned around, and glared at Jack.

"You very bad boy, Jack!" he bellowed. He blew on a necklace tied around his neck. I realised it was the same necklace I used to have. There was a flash of snow, and the most beautiful woman I had ever seen appeared.

She wore white furs around her body. She wore a very revealing white dress, and white gloves and boots. She wore another amulet. She was a woman of breathtaking beauty. The air around her seemed to turn cold. I found myself staring at her figure. She was so wonderful, and I blushed as I looked at her. She turned on the spot, and screamed as she saw the frozen figures around her. She spotted Jack, who was cowering on the spot as her mother gave him an icy glare.

"JACK!!" she screamed. With a wave of her hand, the figures of the imp, Osrie1, the Duke, Capablanca, and the sleigh defrosted. She waved her hand again, and dozens of imps stood at her side.

"YOU NAUGHTY LITTLE BEAST, JACK FROST!!!" she bawled, her beautiful face livid. "YOU DISSAPPEAR TO RUNESCAPE, YOU WORRY ME SICK, YOU FREEZE YOUR FATHER, AND NOW YOU FREEZE THESE INNOCENT PEOPLE!!! YOU ARE SO GROUNDED!!" With another wave of her hand, Jack was on the floor, frozen solid. She calmed down, and then turned to us.

"Thank you very much for finding my son," she said throatily. She rushed forward, and kissed me once on both cheeks. The place where her lips came in contact with me stung with coldness. I blushed again, and she smiled, and winked. She ran forward and kissed Capablanca and Osrie1 and the Duke on the cheeks too. They blushed simultaneously, as she laughed.

"I have rewards for you all!" she announced. She clapped her hands, and we all froze. But this freezing didn't hurt, like Jack made it. This felt friendly, but still cold. Then, suddenly, we melted into a puddle.

I panicked. We had melted! I couldn't move. I was just water, what was I going to do? Then, suddenly, I solidified back into ice, and the ice around me shattered.

"I just taught you the freeze emote," she informed me. "If anybody touches you while you perform it, they will temporarily turn to ice. It won't work on beings of fire of course, such as demons or dragons, but it is effective if you need a distraction. Now here is something else I can give all of you." With a wave of her hand, a large pile of snow appeared on the floor. She picked up a pile of snow, and fashioned another amulet out of it. She handed that to a speechless Duke. She made another three amulets, and handed one to Capablanca, one to Osrie1, and one to me. She then cleared her throat, and Santa walked forward.

"Ho ho ho! merry Christmas!!" Santa said joyfully. I grinned at him.

He looked exactly like the decorations made him look. He was large, fat, and jolly. His red clothes looked furry and comfortable, and he had a bushy white beard. He grinned back at me.

"So, what do you want for Christmas?" Santa asked me, still grinning with joy. I shrugged. He laughed again, and winked.

"I insist on giving you something!" he cried. "Let me teach you a funky dance I learned in my youth. The snowman dance it is called!" He did a wobbly, comical little dance. I suddenly had a strong urge to dance too. I wobbled around in the snowman dance, laughing as I saw Capablanca, the Duke and Osrie1 dance too. Santa laughed again.

"I have another little gift for you," Santa announced. He pulled out several red piles from his robes. He handed one to each of us. I unravelled the red pile, and found out it was parts of a red robe.

It was a Santa suit. It was fluffy, warm, and red. It contained trousers, shirt, a black belt, gloves, and black boots. I smiled, thanked Santa, and took off my warlock clothes. I took off my boots and gloves, and slipped on my Santa kit. It was very warm and comfy. I jumped around in it, to try it out for size.

"You'll get something else on Christmas day," Santa laughed, winking. I thanked him again, and he jumped into his sleigh. The imps disappeared, and the ice queen, dragging the frozen Jack Frost behind her, jumped in next to Santa.

I took out my wand, and I read the Lumbridge home teleport diagram. I said the correct spell ("Magicus Homicus!"), and a magic bubble surrounded me. I saw Osrie1 and Capablanca doing the same thing, while the Duke used his now repaired candy cane to go home. The bubble popped, and I was dragged through suffocating darkness.

I fell on the ground in Lumbridge. I heard thumps around me, and I saw that Osrie1 and Capablanca had arrived safely too. I sat up, and dusted myself off. I walked back towards the bridge, planning to re-enter the war.

A few days later, I woke up to a cry of "Wake up! Presents!" I sat up, and saw Osrie1 nd Capablanca standing by my bed. I looked at the clock on my drawers and I saw it was 7:30am, 25th of December.

"Merry Christmas, Mainiac97, my dear noob!" Capablanca grinned. "Also, thank you for that ring, it is very pretty." Osrie1 smiled at me.

"I like that golden pie dish with a meat pie in it, thank you!" Osrie1 said. I nodded, and spotted a small pile of presents at the foot of my bed. I sat up, and picked up a present. It was wrapped up in very ornate golden packaging. I felt it. It felt like a small box. I carefully took of the golden wrapping, and a small velvet purple box fell in my lap.

I opened the box, and inside a small diamond ring gleamed. A note fell from the box. It said on it, **To Mainiac97, from Duke Horacio. This is a ring of life, a very rare and powerful ring that is enchanted to heal you when you are weak from battle.** Keeping a mental note to thank the Duke the next time I saw him, I put the ring on. It sparkled innocently on my finger. I picked up another package.

This was a brown, dirty parcel. A piece of parchment on it read _To Mainiac97, From Farmer Fred. _I felt it. It felt rather lumpy. I opened the package, and a large number of watermelons fell in my lap. Licking my lips, I put them to one side. I picked up another package. I read the label and found out it was from Sedridor. I opened it, and a bag full of runes fell out.

Osrie1 gave me a book about the history of Lumbridge. Capablanca gave me an amulet of defence ("Dear noob, it will protect you from the most fatal blows!"). Diango sent me a strange package. It was round. I ripped off the paper, and a snow globe fell on my lap. A note accompanied it. **To Mainiac97, from Diango. This is a snow globe that will surround the area around it with snow when shaken. Consider this a Christmas present, since I will give you another two previous Christmas event rewards the next time I see you.** I stood up, and shook the globe. Snow flew around inside, then, suddenly, a hole opened up in the top and snow came pouring out. I stood there, covered in thick, frosty white snow, while Osrie1 and Capablanca howled with laughter. Shaking the snow off me, I picked up a handful that was on the floor, fashioned it into a ball, and tossed it into Osrie1's laughing mouth. He chocked and spluttered, while I and Capablanca roared with mirth. Osrie1 made a snowball, and threw it at me. I dodged, and a furious snowball fight broke out. Laughing, and still covered in snow, I picked up another parcel while Capablanca continued the fight with Osrie1.

This parcel was very small, and wriggly. The label told me it was from Madrey1. Curiously, I opened it, and several wriggling maggots fell on the floor. In disgust, I threw them out the window. There were only three parcels left. One was big, lumpy, with shiny silver packaging, while the other had shiny pink packaging. There was also one at the bottom, in black paper. I picked up the large one, and pulled off the paper.

It was from Santa and the ice queen. There were several things here. First, there was a large box which was tied up with shiny wrapping. I pulled off the wrapping, to see a wonderful thing.

The box was full of sweets. Gingerbread cookies in the shape of Santa, snow cones, candy canes, cookies, nut brittle, Christmas cake, and mince pies filled the box. My mouth watered at the luscious sight. I looked further on, and found what looked like an ice ornament of a snow imp. A note attached to the ornament said 'if you tap your ice amulet on the imp, it will come to life'. Curiously, I got my amulet from the cabinet next to me. I tapped the ornament with the amulet, and it shook. Capablanca and Osrie1 stopped fighting to watch.

The snow imp shuddered, and then sprang to life. It leaped off the bed, and bowed to me.

"Hello, I am your snow imp friend, and I will now help you whenever you need help," he announced. "If you breathe on your amulet it will summon me." He leaped back on the bed, and sat there obediently.

I took the pink-wrapped present. The note read **To Mainiac97, love from Amy11. If you don't remember me, I am the person who you saved from that big bully, Madrey1. I wish for you to meet me in the Lumbridge Restaurant for breakfast.** I looked at what she had gotten me.

It was a silver bracelet. It shone beautifully, and my face gleamed on every opal. Capablanca gasped, getting a face full of snow from osrie1.

"That is a rare, exquisite opal bracelet! It is very complicated to make, and even more expensive to buy! Whoever made this went to a lot of trouble to get it for you, lucky noob," Capablanca explained. I nodded, and put it on. Inside there was also a small mirror. I looked at my reflection.

I had changed a bit since I saw myself on my very first day on RuneScape. My cheeks were still rosy, and my hair was still smooth and black. My hair had grown a bit. I put my helmet back on, and my hair was hidden by a thick layer of bronze. I wore a prayer amulet, my defence amulet, and my ice amulet. I wore my Santa gloves, shirt, trousers, and boots. I had put my leather gloves and boots, and my warlock outfit in the bank. I unwrapped the last present.

It was from Ilookgood99. It was a small orb with a button on it. I pushed the button, and suddenly my eyes misted over. I fell to the floor, twitching. The orb had blown up in my hand. I remembered……the rosy-cheeked boy…wearing that jumper…..he was saying something….but what was he saying? He was sitting on a chair……there was a strange device in front of him. He appeared to be screaming…..I shook my head and I came back to life.

Capablanca and Osrie1 hadn't noticed this sudden breakdown. They were still snowball fighting. I sat there, thinking. This person looked a lot like me. But both of these visions that I had experienced seemed to contain strange devices I had never seen before. Ilookgood99 was behind quite a bit of this, I thought. He was the one who delivered the minty candy, according to Diango. He was the one who seemed to know me, and kept passing unreadable hints. For example, the object on my back, and he popped up everywhere, as if he knew this place by heart. I shook this thought out of my head. The next time I met him, I thought, I would ask questions. I told the imp I wanted him to go to everyone that had given me a present and thank them for me. I also gave him a candy cane, and thanked him for helping me. He disappeared in a puff of cold steam. For now, I was going to enjoy Christmas. I snatched the snow globe out of Osrie1's hands, scooped up my presents, and left the hotel.

I climbed up the ladder, and a guard with some tinsel wrapped over his shoulder wished me a merry Christmas as I passed. I joined the queue into a bank booth, and I put my presents (except the bracelet, the globe and the defence amulet) in the huge box. I went downstairs, and left the castle. Osrie1 had already put his gifts in the bank, and had run ahead to have breakfast. Capablanca had already had breakfast, and had gone to practice with a new sword his uncle sent him. I went into the restaurant, and scanned the tables for Amy11.

I spotted her in a secluded corner of the restaurant. She looked very pretty in a pink dress. Her blonde hair fell around her shoulders like spun gold. When she saw me, she waved at me to join her. I sat opposite her, feeling uncomfortable. She smiled.

"Hello. How are you?" she asked.

"I'm okay. How are you?" I asked, turning red.

"I'm okay. I invited you because after you saved me I wanted to get to know you better," she said. I nodded.

We chatted for a while about our Christmas. She had spent it with her relatives, helping around with the chicken. She even managed to wangle a turkey to cook and sell. She explained to me that turkeys don't usually come until thanksgiving, so she was lucky to catch one. I gaped wordlessly at her when I realised that I had missed thanksgiving entirely while training with the goblins.

I explained my action-packed Christmas with Jack Frost. She listened patiently, and asked me to show her my little ice trick. I smiled, and willed for my body to freeze up entirely. I turned to ice. It felt cool, unlike the painful transformation I suffered when Jack Frost froze me. I melted, and she screamed for a waiter to come. I solidified, and the ice smashed. A waiter rushed forward, and when he saw that calm had been restored, he took our orders. Instead of a meat sandwich breakfast, I had a turkey sandwich. It was quite delicious, I thought, as I munched on it. Amy11 ordered a turkey salad. When the pile of wet leaves, berries, and turnkey came, I wondered how women managed to eat that rabbit food.

When I rummaged in my bag to pay the waiter, he laughed and told me that Christmas food on Christmas was free.

After breakfast, we said goodbye, and I blushed beetroot red when she gave me a peck on the cheek. I left the restaurant, feeling light-headed. It was easy to talk to Amy11, almost as easy as it is to talk to Osrie1, or Capablanca. I found Osrie1 nearby munching on a piece of chicken. He finished it, and we found Capablanca using his new sword to disembowel some goblins. He looked up, and smiled as he saw us. He went to join us.

We spent the rest of the morning having a huge snowball fight in the courtyard. We returned to the restaurant, gasping for air. The waiter cooked up a huge Christmas dinner to share. The turkey was huge and sizzling, the gravy was thick and delicious, the potatoes were moist and soft, and even the vegetables were scrumptious. We ate ravenously, like starving dogs. When the plate was completely clean, we were so full we couldn't do much more then lay on the icy grass, watching the clouds.

That evening we visited Farmer Fred. He welcomed us in, and gave us several home-made gingerbread cookies and a special drink he bought especially for the occasion, something called Chef's Delight. It was a very tasty-looking orange, and when I tasted it, it fizzed on my tongue, filling it with crazy flavours. The alcohol wasn't even strong. I quickly visited Diango, where I chose a yo-yo and reindeer antlers as my two previous Christmas event gifts. I put them in the bank, and returned to my hotel room, filled with food and happiness.


	25. Chapter 25: New Year's Day

_Happy Christmas 2008, and happy new Year's Day 2009! Jagex hasn't made a New Year's day event, I made it up entirely.**

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_**Chapter 25: New Year's Day**_

_The Herblore mage sniffed. She was chained up, and her clothes were ripped. Her face was covered in bloody bruises and lumps, and her nose was broken. A man in red robes paced the floor around her, thinking._

"_Come on dear, tell me the next ingredient and you won't have to suffer much more," he said soothingly. The Herblore mage shook her head. Master Samuel hissed. "Very well," he said angrily, and took out an abyssal whip from his robes. THWACK. He hit her around the face, making a new, deep cut. THWACK. He hit her jaw, which started to bleed. THWACK. He hit her eye, which went even puffier. She screamed with pain, while Master Samuel hit her with glee._

I woke up with a start. I sat up, and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. This was the third dream that involved the Herblore mage. I didn't get any useful information, only that she was being tortured for information. I shuddered at the memory of the dark, cramped room. If I could find out where they were, I could tip off the Lumbridge guards, so they could help her. For now, though, there was no need to tell anybody of what happened.

I looked at my bedside clock, and found out it was 11:30am, 31st of December. It was New Year's Eve. I jumped up with excitement. Today was the day I could talk with Diango about the event! I put my helmet back on, I picked up my shield and my scythe, and I left the hotel.

I decided I would have to forget breakfast and have an early lunch, since they stopped selling breakfast at 11:00am. When I didn't see Osrie1 and Capablanca in the courtyard, I left for breakfast myself.

I entered the restaurant, and scanned the table for Osrie1 or Capablanca. I saw Amy11 eating a solitary salad, looking miserable. I sat down opposite her, and said hello to her. She jumped, and then smiled at me.

"You look sad. What's the matter?" I asked kindly. She sighed.

"My mother has died," she said, and then she burst into tears. I patted her on the back, comforting her.

"That's awful," I said soothingly. She gave me a watery smile.

"Thank you," she sniffed. "She was in the garden, tending to the red berry bushes, when a strange plant with red eyes grew next to her, and a-ate her," she sobbed. I gasped. I had visited Phileas in his house for tea one day, and he had explained that even the random event monsters were being possessed. I hugged Amy11, and patted her on the back. A waiter came and ordered a meat sandwich. She sniffed again, and tried to smile.

"You are so sweet," she said, and I couldn't help but blush.

"So are you," I mumbled. She smiled.

"Well, I'd better be off," she sighed, pecking me on the cheek and skipping off. I blushed again, and ate my meat sandwich.

I went off to do my daily goblin-slaughtering. I breathed on my ice amulet, and my snow imp popped up.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

"Could you look for Osrie1 and Capablanca for me and ask them to meet me on the bridge?" I asked, slipping on the ice slightly. It wasn't as icy as it used to be, but it was still pretty cold and icy. My imp nodded, and disappeared.

I stepped towards a goblin, but then a small axe flew over my shoulder, and hit the goblin in the stomach. The goblin keeled over, and turned into a pile of bones and coins. Madrey1 shoved me out of the way, and picked up his winnings.

"Hey, I was going to kill that goblin!" I yelled. I stepped towards another goblin, but Madrey1 was already there. He beheaded the goblin, laughing his head off. I was going to get out some runes, but Madrey1 already got out about a dozen fire runes and a dozen mud runes, and suddenly there was a blast of brown flames. I was blown off my feet, and I crashed into the bridge, winded. All of the goblins within a five-foot radius of Madrey1 had been blown up. I wave of hot anger flooded my body. I stood up, and ran towards a laughing Madrey1.

A little voice in the back of my head said, _this isn't a good idea._ I shook all doubt out of my head, and hit Madrey1 in the side. Madrey1 stopped laughing, and he glared at me. With a swoop of his scimitar, my head flew off. An excruciating pain flew through my body, before my nerves stopped working. All I could see was blackness, and I collapsed on the ground, dead.

I fell to the ground in Lumbridge courtyard. I stood up, and found out all I was holding was my scythe, my shield, and my helmet. So that is what death feels like, I thought. I ran back to the bridge, finding madrey1 on the floor, howling with laughter. Next to him was a small marble tomb with my stuff piled on it. There was a small bubble covering my stuff. I reached in the bubble, and it let me reach for my stuff. I put my Santa suit back on, and I put all the stuff that lay there back where they used to be.

"So, little noob, will you hit me again?" Madrey1 sneered. I shook my head sadly. Madrey1 laughed again, and he walked past the farm, beheading a goblin and several innocent (but in my opinion, terrifying) chickens.

I shook with anger at Madrey1. He thought he was so brilliant, killing everything he saw, bullying everyone he met. But, in my opinion, he is a big bully who earns everything by force. I didn't notice the pull on my trousers as the snow imp returned with Capablanca and Osrie1 at his side.

We said hello to each other. Capablanca had just been showing Osrie1 his house. We trekked up the muddy path that led to Draynor Village. Several jail guards glared at us as we passed. We went into the market, saying hello to Fortunato and the Wise Old Man as we passed. I was yet to visit the Wise Old Man's house. We went to Diango, who was selling a person a kite.

"If you lose it, I'm not giving you another one for free, and that's final!" Diango yelled to his huffy customer. The man stomped off, holding his kite. We walked up to him. He smiled at us.

"Hello, how are you?" he asked kindly. We answered, and asked him about the New Year's Day event.

"It's simple. You visit Aggie the Witch, who wills teleport you to a dragon's den. This dragon is called the dragon of New Year, he only awakens on the New Year, and he breaths dragon flames more powerful then normal. You need to use special dragon-proof vases to catch the fire. She will also make you drink anti-dragon fire potion, so you don't get damaged by his flames. They will sting, but the only thing you have to worry about is his tail, his teeth, or his claws. Then you bring her the vases full of fire, and she will use them to make fireworks for you. If you impress her enough she will reward you with a piece of clothing, an experience lamp and a new emote," Diango explained. "You set off the fireworks at exactly the new year, so the sky will fill with sparks. If you do the event successfully, I will reward you with the only two clothing or toy rewards, which are the firework model and the dragon mask." We nodded, and rushed off to Aggie the Witch's house.

Capablanca knocked carefully on her door. She opened it. Her eyes flashed when she saw us. She scratched her wart, and let us in.

The house consisted of a small patchwork bed in the corner, selves full of strange ingredients and runes, and a large bubbling cauldron in the centre. There were bottles lined up on all the bottom shelves, and there was a cabinet full of vials. There was a broom propped up in the corner. There was a small stove and a tap. She beckoned for us to come.

"I guess you're here for the event?" she asked sourly. We nodded. "Then I want each of you to drink from this vial." She handed me a vial of bubbling, green, bad-smelling liquid. I sniffed it reluctantly, and took a sip. It seared my throat, and tasted like rotten cabbage. I retched, and handed it to Osrie1. He drank from it, made a face, and passed it to Capablanca. He drank the rest, swallowed, and cringed. She handed us both several shiny vases.

"Right, I am going to perform a spell on you to teleport you to the dragon's den. Remember, if you step on an enchanted circle and ask it nicely to take you here, it'll oblige. Don't kill the dragon, or you'll annoy it. Right, see you," she said, and muttered a few words. I got sucked into suffocating darkness, and fell on a rocky floor.

I looked around. We were in a small cavern. Flames raged out from the craggy walls, and stalactites and stalagmites burst from the rocky ceiling. I heard a roar echo from behind me. I swerved around, nearly losing balance.

A large dragon was behind us. His red-hot scales burned with heat, and his small black eyes scanned us cautiously. He had long, green-tinged fangs, and long, black claws. He was almost as big as the Lumbridge Castle. He roared with displeasure.

He shot a fountain of dancing flames at us. I tired, and failed, to scoop the flames up. He swiped a claw at Capablanca, who was sent flying into the wall opposite. He roared again, and charged towards Osrie1. Osrie1 gulped nervously. He dodged, and shot a water strike at the dragon. As the wet strike hit the dragon, he roared. He obviously didn't like water. I screamed as he hit me full in the face with fire. It stung and burned, but because of the smelly potion it didn't hurt too seriously. I scooped up a few flames with my vase. He roared, and tried to swallow Capablanca. Capablanca, yelling with fright, ran towards the dragon, sword raised. I shouted for him not to harm the dragon. The dragon shot flames at him, as Capablanca swerved out of the way. I scooped up some more flames.

This war continued for a while. More people came to join in. I filled another two vases with dragon fire, and the dragon got steadily angrier. When we filled all our jugs, we asked the cave nicely if we could return to Draynor. We were dragged, yet again, through the suffocating darkness.

The house was full of people that wanted to pay the dragon a visit. Aggie was handing potion and vases around, and was teleporting people to the cave on the double. When she saw us with a dozen full vases, she smiled at us.

"Very impressive," she said. "You've certainly done the job very well. You've earned yourself a reward!" She handed us three dragon wings. "Those dragon wings are to strap on your back, and they really help you fly," she said. We strapped the wings on. The wings started to flap when we wanted them to flap. We floated an inch above the ground. Smiling, we thanked Aggie. She stopped us.

"Let me teach you three a new emote," she said. She floated an inch above the ground, roared loudly like a dragon, and shot out fire that didn't hurt at all. Suddenly, I floated an inch above the ground, roared, and breathed harmless flames. She laughed, and gave us three experience lamps.

"Like all lamps, rub them and tell the lamp what level you want to raise," she explained. I decided to rub it later. She handed me around thirty fireworks. I left her house.

I ran forward to Diango's stall. He laughed, and handed me a wooden firework model, and a large dragon mask. I took of my helmet, and put on the mask. I did the dragon emote, and a passing level 3 girl screamed, brandishing a bronze dagger. I took off my mask, and she sighed with relief.

I put my model, my mask, my wings, and my lamp in the bank. I decided I would collect experience lamps instead of using them.

That night, I had my tinderbox at the ready. I was on a bare stretch of grass near Farmer Fred's house, with several fireworks on the floor next to me. A large clock that had been placed next to me by Capablanca was ticking away. There was twenty seconds before the New Year. I heard people in the houses in Draynor and Lumbridge saying 'Five! Four! Three!' I lit my fireworks…. 'Two!' They were nearly set off….. One more second to go….. Fireworks all around RuneScape set off, and lit up the sky in a shower of brilliantly coloured sparks. Bangs echoed around the cities, and I watched with wonder as another memory flitted into my head. The rosy-cheeked boy….was lighting a firework…..he was watching with a similar wonder at the sparks……I fell back into reality with a thump. I sat on the grass, nonplussed. How many dreams and memories would I have to suffer before I found out the truth of my past? I needed to find out what was going on, but the answer wasn't about to come easily.


	26. Chapter 26: The Stone Circle

_**Chapter 26: The Stone Circle**_

The Christmas spirit left not long after New Year's Day. The Christmas trees and decorations were taken down, the snow melted, and my snow imp, sadly, informed me that he was going to return to the land of snow before the two planes separated, and he would return next December.

January arrived in a flurry of wind and rain. The despondent weather made me glad I wore my warm, comfortable Santa suit. I had to get rid of it when I was stared at in the streets.

One morning, I woke up to familiar, rather depressing sounds.

"Wake up, wake up, you log, we've got to go!" I heard Osrie1's voice yell. I groaned. I sat up blearily, rubbing my sore eyes. I looked around, and saw Osrie1 by my bed. Another familiar voice came from the door.

"Wake up, sleepy-head, my dear noob!" Capablanca shouted, brandishing his wake-up stick (or the stick of malice, I called it), preparing to poke me out of dream land. I jumped up quickly, grabbed my helmet, and set off out the hotel.

"I bought you breakfast, Capablanca said, handing me a meat sandwich. I munched on it gratefully.

Today was the day we were leaving Lumbridge. The other day we visited the wizard's tower, and Sedridor handed us a box to give to a rune salesman in Varrock. Inside there was a pile of notes and papers, the talisman, and a lump of grey, sparkling rock. I had this in my bag. We agreed to go to Varrock and settle down in there before exploring further. Varrock was a big place, from what I had heard. I now sat in the restaurant, having a final meal in Lumbridge. The mood was solemn. I was feeling rather gloomy that I had to leave Lumbridge. It felt like a home to me and it was going to be difficult settling in somewhere else. From what I had heard and read, Varrock was one of the biggest cities in RuneScape, second to cities such as Ardougne and Falador. Popping the last piece of meat into my mouth and chewing thoughtfully on it, I left the restaurant. I gave it a last fleeting look, before crossing the bridge into the unknown.

I saw Amy11 standing there, looking cute in a pink bow, beating the crap out of a goblin. That comes to show that you can't trust what you see on the outside, I thought. The goblin fell over winded, and she gave it a last kick in the chest. Groaning, it rolled over, and was replaced with a pile of bones, coins, and a bronze square shield. She scooped it up, looking furious. I stepped forward.

"Hello and why were you having a boxing match with a goblin?" I asked cheerfully. She sniggered.

"I was here, minding my own business, when a goblin came over and thought he'd be smart with me. So, I used self-defence. The other goblins ran away, crying like little girls," she giggled. I smiled.

"Well, goodbye Amy11, we are going to Varrock," I sighed. She stopped giggling.

"You're going?" she said, sounding incredulous and slightly sad.

"Yes. Of course, you're more then welcome to come with us," I said hopefully. Osrie1 elbowed me in the side and hissed in my ear "Uncalled for!" Capablanca looked slightly put out.

"I'd love to tag along!" Amy11 grinned. She grabbed my hand, and started frogmarching me on the path leading to Varrock. Osrie1 looked slightly unhappy, while Capablanca wolf-whistled.

When Amy11 had decided to stop leading, she decided it was better to follow. I went ahead, past the wooden bridge, past the chicken coop (I gulped nervously) and finally, past a potato field and a gate. I looked behind me and saw, in the distance, the ruined house that I had met Sir Vant in, the shop, and Farmer Fred's sheep farm. So many good memories…..a tear fell from the corner of my eye. Amy11 squeezed my hand, and I squeezed it back. I stepped forward, abandoning my past, and treading into unknown and unfamiliar waters.

There were two paths here. There was a man here, in an empty wooden cart, snoozing quietly. I looked to the left. In that direction, there was a rather ornate marble house, and a stone pillar, as far as we could see. To the right, there was corner, and past this corner was a bear. The large, filthy, aggressive-looking beast snarled at us in the distance. I decided it would be unwise to seek a fight with such a dangerous beast, and went in the direction of the ornate marble building.

I turned the corner at the end of the path, with my gang in my footsteps. The ornate marble building had a small chicken coop at the side. If I had known that, I would have rather fought with the bear. There were large marble steps with pillars on the sides of them, and on top of a yew door there was a Latin phrase engraved there. It read, _caveo, tantum verus champions mas penetro Dolus don Champions. _I then felt disappointed that I couldn't read Latin. I decided to enter and ask about the phrase. I could distinguish 'Champions', but the rest felt like total gibberish. I tried the handle, but some strange force blasted me back into a tree. Rubbing a lump on my head, and feeling concussed, I sat up. Apparently, I wasn't allowed in. I just decided to follow the path.

Near the end I gasped at what I saw. A very familiar stone circle stood there. I had heard about it and I even saw it in a dream. Large, collapsing stone pillars surrounded a large stone altar. The stone altar was chipped and cracked and glowed with an evil, unnatural force. Cloaked dark wizards surrounded the altar, performing dark spells on it. One strangely familiar wizard was pouring black, bubbling liquid into a steaming cauldron. The wizard looked up, and a flash of pure fury flew across his face when he saw me.

"You!" he bellowed, throwing the empty vial at me. I ducked, and the vial smashed in a pillar behind me. "You!" he repeated loudly, throwing a rock by his foot at me. I ducked again, and the rock hit Capablanca in the head. He moaned with pain, and rubbed the spot where the rock hit. A band of wizards attacked him, rendering him helpless to us. The wizard pulled his hood down, and revealed himself to be James.

James stepped forward, his face screwed up with rage. I backed away, while Osrie1 cowered from James. Capablanca rushed forward, but was swept away casually by a dark curse. Amy11 tried to knee James in the place where it would hurt the most for a man, but she was forced away by a band of dark wizards. One of them cast a large purple demon that James had tried to kill me with in Tutorial Island.

James hadn't changed much. His gorilla thumb moustache was still there, except it looked much filthier. His long and matted hair fell in hanks around his shoulders.

He took out an all too familiar mithril dagger, and threw it straight at Osrie1. Osrie1 dodged, but just barely. The dagger rose from the ground, and began chasing Osrie1 everywhere. James cackled as Osrie1 ran, squealing, around the stone circle, the flying dagger hot on his tail (or buttocks, in this case). James shouted 'Flames of Zamorak!' as flames engulfed Osrie1.

These flames were furious. They twisted into the shape of skeletons, rats, snakes, dragons, and didn't stop. They were so hot I felt you could roast metal on them. They were a tinge of purple, and they were so hot that even the earth below them burned. They rose up, and fell on top of Osrie1.

Osrie1 screamed. I rushed forward to try and help him. I turned to Capablanca and Amy11 for aid, but Capablanca was attempting to fight off the wizards that were attacking him, and Amy11 was unsuccessfully fighting off the purple demon.

I felt hopeless. Osrie1 was dead or surely dying, at the hands of these flames. Amy11 was being beaten up by a giant demon of purple flames. Capablanca was strong, and he could hold up against the wizards, but not for long. I, however, was dodging blasts of darkness, fire, water, earth, and even long blue cords of the snare spell. James tried to curse me, he tried to burn me, and he even tried to confuse me. The only thing I could do now was be quick and nimble to dodge these attacks. There was no point fighting. I knew you could regenerate in Lumbridge, but it was rumoured that people were dying at the hands of possessed, evil animals every day, and they didn't return. I heard of dark wizards everywhere brutally killing people, and they didn't return either. What were the odds of me returning?

But then, a beacon of hope was lit in my stomach. I saw the familiar shape of Ilookgood99 coming form the distance. His bald head shone, and his face bore one of deep shock, sadness and anger when he saw the sight in front of him. Ilookgood99 clapped his hands, and the flames of Zamorak evaporated. The purple demon collapsed into dust, the wizards were blasted back, yelling, and James stopped abruptly at the sight of him.

"I warned you, James," Ilookgood99 growled when he was close enough. "What did I tell you? But you didn't listen. Do you know what you are helping these Zamorak supporters do? You're an everyday sneak, and the most wanted thief in RuneScape, not an evil, cold-blooded killer. I can't believe you. You're going to bring the downfall of life itself doing this. You must be stopped." And, with that, Ilookgood99 sent a quick flash of burning light at James. James keeled over, screaming. Before anything else could happen, he disappeared in a flash of blackness.

Ilookgood99 kneeled over the burnt, blackened, dying body of Osrie1. His bag lay nearby in tatters. Ilookgood99 sent a pure white glorious light at Osire1. The burns disappeared instantly. He clapped his hands, and Osrie1's bag lay there, good as new. Before I could say anything, he threw me what felt like a small, metal sphere. The sphere exploded, and suddenly I felt something that nearly gave me a heart attack.

I could hear hissing from behind my back. I turned around. Nobody was there. I felt something metallic on my back. I tried to feel, but there was nothing there. I heard mechanical clicking, but I couldn't track the source. I tried to see, but I couldn't. The dark wizards gasped. Amy11 looked utterly shocked. Then, as quickly as it came, the feeling and the sound was gone.

Ilookgood99 knelt next to me. He looked quite miserable. "I can't explain my actions right now. I won't explain to you what I'm doing. You need to accept the fact that it is all for the greater good. But remember, you're special. Don't bother asking, it is up to you to figure it out. When you finally do, it is time," he whispered urgently in my ear. With a swift wave of his cloak, he was gone.

I stood up. I decided there was no point mulling it all over in my head. I trusted Ilookgood99, though I was unnerved, frightened, and freaked out by him. What was this object on my back? What did these visions and dreams mean? What were the Zamorak supporters doing? I felt a grumble from my stomach. I decided it was best right now to have food and do our chore left to us from Sedridor. I sat up, joined Capablanca, Osrie1, and Amy11, and we left for Varrock.


	27. Chapter 27: The City of Varrock

_**Chapter 27: The City of Varrock**_

I stepped past the stone circle. The dark wizards glared at me, and I knew that the next time I met them that I would be in for a very tough fight. I stepped past several guards, who apparently hadn't noticed what had been happening in front of their noses. They were clad in yellow and brown armour, with the Varrock coat of arms on their shields. They were level 22, but they seemed more powerful. They were powerfully built, but you could see they had rather plump bellies behind their brown chain mails. They nodded at me and Osrie1, Capablanca and Amy11 as we passed. Osrie1's stomach grumbled. I realised how hungry I was.

"Do you where we can get a spot of food?" Osrie1 asked me. We passed grubby buildings with doors hanging off their hinges, But, I saw a rather clean building in comparison to the others. It had clean wooden tables and chairs outside, and it had a sign hanging above the large double-door. The sign was in the shape of a blue crescent, and it read 'The Blue Moon Inn'. The smell of delicious food drifted out of the door. Osrie1's stomach grumbled again.

"Shall we go in?" I asked the group. They all nodded, and we stepped inside.

The inn was smoky, and rather crowded. It was filled with wooden tables and chairs, several paintings of unicorns, heroes and heroines, and portraits of cities and grassy fields, and behind the bar there were several empty bar stools. Nearby, a bunch of drunken adventurers sang a song called 'Zezima the hero'.

They sung this strange song over and over again, their speech getting more slurred with every glass of ale. One of the drunks burped loudly, and Amy11 cringed with disgust. We stepped towards the stools, and sat down. The bartender came from a door.

He wore a large white apron, and he was rather plump. He was bald, but he had a small goatee, and he held a cloth and beer glass. He was cleaning the glass when he walked towards us.

"Can I take your orders?" he asked. He handed us a menu from under the bar. We looked at it.

"I'll have a meat pie and a wizard's mind bomb," Osrie1 said. The bartender took out a beer glass from under the bar, went to the beer tap, and filled it with bubbling blue liquid. He went through a door, and returned holding a steaming, succulent meat pie. Osrie1 licked his lips, and began munching his meat pie.

"I'll go for a more alcoholic drink. Give me a keg of your finest Dragon Bitter, and a roast chicken," Capablanca boomed. The bartender took a large wooden barrel from under the bar, and filled it with fizzing red liquid which smelt rather strong. He handed it to Capablanca, and he went into the kitchen. He returned, holding a large plate with a large plucked juicy meaty chicken on it. Capablanca ripped off a leg and began tearing the meat apart using his teeth.

"I'll have a glass of Chef's Delight and a chocolate bomb," I said, looking at my menu. The bartender nodded, and got me a glass of bubbling, delicious-smelling yellow Chef' Delight. He went into the kitchen, and came out holding a pastry smothered in luscious, melted chocolate. I licked my lips, picked up my fork, and I ate a mouthful of the chocolate bomb. My mouth filled with the wonderful, mouth-watering taste of chocolate.

"I'll have a fruit blast and a cabbage salad, barkeep," Amy11 said. The bartender took out a cocktail glass, and began adding things to it. Slices of juicy fruit, a few greyish leaves, and a few drop of different spirits, and finally the glass was put in a shaker. The bartender shook the cocktail shaker aggressively, and he took out the cocktail and gave it to her. He then went into the kitchen, and came out holding a lump of unappatising, soggy leaves in a bowl. Amy11 thanked him, and began chewing vigorously on the leaves.

We all tucked in on our food. Capablanca chugged down on his keg of dragon bitter, getting tipsier as time passed. People came into the pub and left the pub. But, suddenly, the door was blasted off its hinges. I chocked on my Chef's Delight, and looked to see who knocked down the door.

Madrey1 stomped in the pub. Grumbling, he put the door back up, and went towards the bar. He sat on a stool next to me, and, ignoring me, he called for the bartender. Huffing and puffing, the bartender appeared there a few seconds later.

"Can I take your order?" he asked. Madrey1 flipped through the menu, looking bored.

"What's the most alcoholic drink here?" he asked. The bartender cleared his throat nervously.

"There is the Fountain of Pure Alcohol, but only people over level 100 can stomach it," the bartender said nervously. Madrey1 growled.

"You're as insane as the rumours say you are! Computer game indeed! Are you blind? I AM LEVEL 100!" Madrey1 bellowed, spraying spit everywhere. The bartender gulped nervously. He got a large barrel that had DANGER: PURE UNCUT ALCOHOL printed in red letters on it. The bartender put on a mask that was under the bar. He put it on, and using a metal tool, he opened the barrel.

Clear, strong-smelling liquid sprayed out from the hole in the barrel. After a minute, it stopped. The bartender took off the mask, and got a beer glass. He dipped the glass in the barrel, and when it submerged, it was full of smoky, clear liquid. Shaking, the bartender handed Madrey1 the glass.

Madrey1 downed it in one gulp. The pub gasped. Madrey1 yelled for more. Just then, he noticed me and the rest of the gang.

"Not you noobs," he groaned. Capablanca stepped forward drunkenly, hiccupping.

"Nobody calls me a noob, since I am a defender of them," Capablanca muttered, picking up his sword. Madrey1 sniggered. Capablanca struck Madrey1, and Madrey1 yelped with pain.

"No more games," Madrey1 whispered. He took out his dragon scimitar. Crying with rage, he struck Capablanca in the side. Capablanca collapsed. Madrey1 picked up his sword.

"This is a White Knight's sword," Madrey1 commented. "It's worth quite a bit of money. I think I'll take it, thank you." Madrey1 put the sword in his bag. Osrie1 took out some runes from his bag, and tried to use water strike on Madrey1. It didn't affect him. Madrey1, with a wave of his hand, sent Osrie1 flying. Amy11 ran forward.

"It's that good-looking noob," Madrey1 said. "You've gone off to join the circus group, have you?" Amy11 ignored this comment, and took out two sowing needles. She pounced, and poked the needles in Madrey1's eyes.

"Oh Zamorak, you cow, you bitch!" Madrey1 spluttered, trying to pull the needles out. When he finally got them out, he rubbed blood out of his eyes. He took out some astral runes, and cast a spell. White light surrounded him, and when the light was gone, his eyes were healed. Growling, he stomped towards Amy11. Amy11 jumped on his head, grabbed his new helmet, and threw it high out the window and out of sight.

"Why is it always my helmet? They don't come cheap!" Madrey1 wailed. I got a distant memory of me doing the same thing, except the helmet fell in the river that time. He swiped at Amy11, who was sent into the wall.

I stepped forward, full of anger and hatred. How dare he hurt a lady! Especially my lady! I blushed slightly at that thought. Did I really like her that way? I shook that naughty thought out of my mind, and took out my scythe. He laughed, and took out his dragon scimitar. I gulped. He lifted the scimitar, preparing to smash it into my skull. I backed off.

Madrey1 grinned evilly at me. He was about to drop the scimitar on my skull, when he keeled over, howling. I looked at the person who rescued me, my saviour. It was a man in shiny white tight clothes that showed off his figure. He wore a tight shiny white hat. He was holding a shiny white dagger. He winked at me, and left the pub. Madrey1's beetle-black eyes followed him out the door.

Madrey1 gave us a final glare, and left the pub. Amy11 stood up, rubbed her head, dusted off her little pink skirt, and rushed towards me. She gave me a kiss on the cheek. I felt myself go red. She let go, and gave me a hug. I hugged her back.

We paid for our food and drinks and left. Capablanca still seemed tipsy so I told him to follow me. I saw a small fountain near an alleyway next to a shop. I dunked him, head-first, in the fountain. Spluttering, he submerged. He forced his wet, spiky hair into submission. He poked me jokingly, and followed the group.

We decided to go shopping a bit, and then go to Aubury's shop give him the package. We passed a sword shop, and, so Capablanca could buy himself a new sword, we entered. The walls were painted a light green, and the place was surrounded with glass cabinets and racks. There was a bookshelf about swords and sword-fighting. I flicked through them, interested. I picked up two books, one called 'The Life of Zezima' and another one called 'Sword-fighting-a guide for beginners'.

I examined the swords and daggers on display. There was one sword labelled 'Rune Long sword'. I checked the price tag with interest. I screamed. The label read '21000gp'. I steadied myself. I heard of more expensive things, but 21000gp! For a sword! I gulped, and continued browsing.

"Hello, can I interest you in a new offer?" a voice asked from behind me. I swivelled around. A lean, muscular man with a small tuft of brown hair, blue eyes, and a small grin stood there. "Hello I'm the owner of this shop. Well, can I interest you in a new object we have in stock?" he asked me kindly. He showed me a leather belt. It felt rather strong, with an extender so I could adjust it to fit me. There were four slots that seemed designed for daggers to fit in. There were two slots that were designed for sticks, scythes and staffs to fir in. There were another two slots that seemed so you could hang up shields on them. There were three long slots that looked like swords could fit on them. And, finally, there was a small leather pouch on it. I gaped at it.

"The pouch is designed for jewellery, rings and amulets and necklaces and such," he explained.

"How much does it cost?" I asked excitedly. He showed me the price tag. It cost 45gp! I didn't mind, I had another 243gp on me, I could pay for it easily. I gawped at it.

"Also," the salesman said, smiling at my enthusiasm, "You get an extra iron dagger if you buy this now, for free! And, if you die, you don't lose the belt, or anything inside it!" I mouthed wordlessly. I nodded, and took the belt from him.

I strolled through the shop, and met up with Osrie1, Capablanca and Amy11 at the counter. Osrie1 held a book called 'Smithing Magic-how to enchant your metal' and an iron sword. Amy11 held a pink, fluffy dagger container, and iron spiked gloves. Capablanca held a steel long sword, a book called 'A Guide to Unarmed Self-Defence', and the same belt as me. I paid 54gp for my books and my belt. I put my belt on, and adjusted it so it fit me perfectly. I put my scythe in one of the two stick containers, and I hung my bronze square shield on one of the shield slots. The person at the counter handed me my free iron dagger, which I put in one of the dagger containers. I took off my amulet of ghost speak, my defence amulet, and my ice amulet, and I put them in the pouch. I left my prayer amulet on. I followed the gang outside the shop.

We went up the road, and passed a filthy tramp. I picked a coin from my coin pouch and threw it next to him. I went up the road, and a most amazing sight met my eyes.

A glorious fountain was in front of us. Carved shapes spouted crystal-clear water, which fell below. There were benches around the fountain, and stone basins filled with water sat there, for people to drink from. The stone path led under the gushing water. A city centre was around the fountain, surrounded with shops and houses. In front of us, pad the fountain, a golden archway led into the courtyard of a huge, golden and bronze palace. The path led into four directions, one being the one we just came from.

We decided to go shopping on the shops around the fountain. We went into the one to the right.

I was disappointed. It was the same kind of shop in Lumbridge, a general store. I browsed the shelves, in the end deciding to buy a sapphire ring for 20gp-a bargain. I slipped it on, deciding to make it my lucky ring.

We left the general store, deciding to go to the shop opposite. The place was bustling with townsfolk, adventurers, and guards. I saw another man in a tight, shiny white suit.

I went into the shop. It was a clothes shop. I decided to buy something to wear over my tattered blue shirt. I browsed the racks of clothing. There was a shiny black silky billowy priest shirt. I didn't like that; I didn't want to look like Ilookgood99. I found a fluffy pink cardigan. I wasn't one of those strange weird people who wore girl's clothes, so I didn't fancy buying that. I saw a red jacket (too colourful), blue shirts (what was the point of wearing a shirt on top of a similar shirt) and even girly tiny T-shirts. I didn't want to buy a T-shirt when I already had one. I settled for a trendy white shiny cardigan. It cost 15gp. I saw something that I couldn't resist buying.

It was a red cape with a yellow streak on the bottom. It looked so handsome, so royal so…cool. It cost 13gp, so I took it.

A woman with her blonde hair tied in a bun called Thessila accepted my money, and commented on my clothes ("good choice, they look good on you!"). I met up with the others.

Amy11 had bought several red and pink skirts and shirts, and even black frilly knickers. Capablanca hated clothes shopping, so he had stated outside, testing out his new steel sword. Osrie1 wore new green trousers. Amy11 whistled at my new clothes. We went to the tent next door, reading the moving-eyeball sign that told us it was a gypsy called Aris.

We entered. A wrinkly old lady with greying hair and a long, billowing red dress sat by a table, with a smoky crystal ball and a pack of cards on it. Strange shapes dangled from the ceiling, and the light came from a hovering lamp from the top of the tent. The gypsy looked at us. Her misty eyes spooked me out. Behind her there was a shelf crammed with a strange assortment of objects. Jars of strange objects and decaying musty old books filled the shelves, and there was a grubby old crystal ball on a rusty holder on the end.

"Greetings, my children," she said in a faraway voice. "I am the gypsy Aris and I can tell the future, no charge. Who would like to go first?" she asked. Amy11 stepped forward.

"Now, my dear, look into the crystal ball. See the mist of the yet to come, and I will guide you," Gypsy Aris said. Amy11, looking unsure, looked into the crystal ball. Suddenly, the mist began spiralling, as though a tornado had whipped up inside. The mist cleared, and flickering images swam across the ball. Amy11 gasped. Gypsy Aris frowned.

"I sense a love in your heart. It burns within, enlightening you to continue. The man you crave saved you from mortal embarrassment and danger, and has treated you with utmost respect and kindness. But does he return your heartfelt feelings? Will he ever? The mist explains all…." She trailed off. An image froze on the crystal ball. It was an image of Amy11, hugging……me. I looked, bemused, at the frozen picture. Amy11 looked rather flustered. Gypsy Aris grinned, her wrinkled face smiling. The image disappeared. Aris frowned again, as though she was concentrating.

"Then again, the darkness approaches for you. You will fight along side…..the light. It shines through the darkness, enlightening you. You will fight for the love, you will get a rival….she comes….." Aris said. The white mist in the glass orb turned black. A twisting image of Amy11 screaming silently twisted through the darkness.

"Right, this young lad can go next," Gypsy Aris said, gesturing towards Osrie1. He stepped forward nervously. The image disappeared, and the crystal ball filled with mist again. It whipped up in a tornado when Osrie1 stared inside it. Aris frowned.

"I sense a basic past," she said. "But you have an even better future in sight. You will discover a most strange secret about yourself, and this secret will lead to a most dark and awful ending." She gasped. An image of Osrie1 running frantically went through the crystal ball. She patted his hand sympathetically. Capablanca stepped forward. She smiled at him.

He looked into the mist. The mist twisted around again. The old gypsy's eyes filled with tears.

"Poor lad," she sniffed. "You've had such an awful past." An image of a woman that looked similar to Capablanca lying on the floor, blood coming out of her mouth, filled the crystal ball. Capablanca began sobbing silently. Aris patted his hand again. "Poor lad," she repeated. "A glorious future awaits you, but it will be interrupted by the oncoming storm. The future will falter, and you will meet a most unexpected person….the woman of the white mist…." She let go of his hands, and the crystal ball filled with fog again. I sat down, and looked into the crystal ball nervously.

Gypsy Aris screamed. "It is you!" she cried, jumping up. "You are the man, the man that the sight foretold….you come from somewhere so strange….flashing lights…..strange technology…." She faltered. In the mist, an image of flashing neon appeared. "You are the One. You are being followed by a man….a man most similar to you….he tries, and fails, to show you the way……you need to figure out your past, and your destiny…." The flashing neon disappeared, and a picture of Ilookgood99 filled the glass orb. He was whispering one word to me….I couldn't understand it. "You have so much in your future……the darkness……the oncoming Death….." she gasped. "Mainiac97, son of another world, there is something on your back!" her crystal ball filled with mist.

I heard it again. The hissing and the mechanical clicking were there. I couldn't see it, I couldn't feel it, but I could hear it, and sense it. There was something on my back! I tried to grip something. My hand clasped around nothingness.

As suddenly as it had appeared, it was gone. I blinked, disorientated. What was that thing on my back? Several explanations burst into my head, none of them making sense. I smiled at Osrie1, Capablanca, and Amy11, and gestured for us to step outside.

We stepped into the sunlight. We blinked. It was dark and musty in the tent, and standing in the midst of the glorious fountain in the sunlight felt brilliant. I saw a most strange sight. There was the same blond man who saved me from Madrey1 was leading a small army of people in shiny white suits that showed of their biceps and triceps, and chests.

They were marching, looking alert. They glanced at us, and the blond man nodded and winked. We decided to follow them. They marched forward, past the sword shop, past the tramp munching on a tomato, past the Blue Moon Inn, and into the stone circle.


	28. Chapter 28: The Glory Troopers

_**Chapter 28: The Glory Troopers**_

We curiously followed the marching men in shiny white suits. They marched forward into the stone circle, and a most terrifying sight met my eyes. Amy11 gasped, while I heard a thump next to me indicating that Osrie1 had fainted.

At least fifty dark wizards surrounded the glowing black altar. They were all waving their hands, muttering curses under their breath, shooting balls of darkness at the altar. The white-uniformed soldiers yelled a battle-cry, and ran forward. The dark wizard jumped in alarm, and began firing spells at the white troopers. The blonde leader hung back to talk to us.

"Hello," he said cheerfully, as if the sight in front of him wasn't happening. I noticed he was level 13. "We are the Glory Troopers. We are the elite, made by our leader. We work together to stop evil, nastiness, and destruction. We were hired shortly after the Tutorial Island rat attack disaster to help fight the possessed animals. I am Creator, and I am one of the commanders of the Glory Troopers. Who may you be?" he asked us politely. We introduced ourselves, and he ducked as a magical throwing axe flew over our heads. He took out a silver prayer symbol of Saradomin from his jacket pocket, put it on, and sent a blast of light at the nearest pack of dark wizards. Out of the wreckage of war came Master Samuel.

He gave us an evil grin, and ran towards us, red robes swishing softly and steadily. His bald head was flecked with blood and shiny with sweat. He stopped by us. The blonde had run into a gang of dark wizards to avoid them approaching the altar.

"Look who it is. If it isn't the maniac, the fat pig, the big-headed noob, and the mouthy pigeon," he sneered. "Nice try on stopping us. A bunch of useless noobs like you couldn't hurt a fly." He proceeded towards the sinister altar, and blasted a black spell at it. The spell hit the altar, and the ground shuddered.

The Glory Troopers and the dark wizards stopped to watch. The altar released a convulsing black portal. Out of the portal came an enormous, scaly hand, redder then the hottest flame. Slowly, horribly, a huge, horned, scaly, red demon with rolling eyes, and a spiky tail, came out of the portal. He roared his displeasure at the sight of the war going on in front of him. Flames shot out of his nostrils. With a swipe of his hand, the Glory Troopers were engulfed in flames. They yelled, and ran. Creator made a blast of white light, and fired it at the demon. It barely affected it.

"Delrith, rise again, and destroy this useless city!" Master Samuel yelled. He ran towards Delrith, and scraped off a scale using a black dagger. He threw it into the bubbling black cauldron. Black steam surrounded the area, making it look like twilight. A black flash came from the cauldron, and launched itself into the sky.

The content white clouds turned black, and began rumbling. The sky turned from light blue into dark purple. Delrith howled loudly, and stamped towards the city. The guards yelled warnings, and fled.

I ran towards the fainted Osrie1, picked him up, and dragged him to safety. Amy11 joined me, lifting him up to support his weight. Capablanca had gone to help Creator chase Delrith off. I charged, furious, towards a chuckling Master Samuel. He spotted me, guffawed, and disappeared in a puff of smoke. I felt a crash against the back of my head, and I keeled over. Master Samuel leered at me from behind. With another bang of black light, he was gone again.

Delrith roared, and, with a swipe of his hand, he sent Creator and Capablanca crashing into the mines. Miners roared with fear, and scattered. Delrith bawled, and smashed his way past the guards and into the city.

We followed him, panting. Creator tagged along with us.

"Tell you what; let me take you back to headquarters," he said. We followed him, and he led us down a filthy road.

The road was crusted completely with filth, and rubbish scattered the area. Several buildings were collapsing into their own filth, while others looked poverty-struck. Hobos groaned as we passed them. Behind us we heard a roar, and a burst of fire. Delrith was chasing us. We heard a loud crash, indicating in his displeasure he had knocked down a house. Out of a dark alleyway a blast of black light came.

We spun around. Dark wizards appeared around us in puffs of black smoke. I drew my scythe, Osrie1 drew his sword, Capablanca drew his sword, Creator took out his Saradomin symbol and prayer book, and Amy11 put on her spiky gloves. We got ready for battle.

The dark wizards shot different spells at us. One earth blast nearly knocked me off my feet. I groaned, and lost a few hit points. I rushed forward, and tried to behead him with my scythe. He simply threw blue ropes at me using his wand. They wrapped around my scythe, and it flew out of my grasp. I took out some runes, and bombarded him with air strikes. He fell over, winded. The binding spell lifted from my scythe, and I picked it up and slit the wizard's throat.

Amy11 screamed. She was tied up in blue cords, and was being roasted alive by fire strikes, bolts and blasts. I jumped forward, and cut the ropes with my scythe.

We went back to back to fend off the dark wizards. Delrith had lost interest in chasing us, and had proceeded to knock over houses and burn the remains. I took out my bow and arrows, and sent a dozen arrows at some dark wizards piling up on Capablanca. The wizards screamed with pain as they were peppered with arrows. Creator jumped up, and roundhouse kicked a dark wizard in the face, smashing his jaw. He kicked another one in the crotch, making him kneel over in agony. He spun around, kicking every dark wizard who dared go near him. I slashed at a wizard with my emergency iron dagger. A hobo ran for cover as Capablanca and Osrie1 sent spells at a dark wizard in front of him. But then I felt an agonizing pain in my back.

James was behind me, holding a blackened wand, leering at me, showing his yellow teeth. I smelt digested meat on his breath as he knelt down.

"I'm going to kill you right now, right here, for sending your bodyguard Ilookgood99 to injure me," he hissed in my ear. He conjured up a ball of darkness from his wand. He sent it at me. I was blasted back, crumpling up on top of an unsuspecting Amy11. He stepped towards me, conjuring up another ball of blackness to send at me and end my time on RuneScape. As a last resort, I sent an air strike at him.

It hit him on the chest. He hasped with a sudden pang of pain. That gave me a chance to sit up and pick up my scythe. He sniggered as I ran towards him, crying with rage. He kneed me in the thigh, making me fall over.

Creator took an orb from his pocket, and spoke into it. All of a sudden, shining white light filled the alleyway, and a dozen more Glory Troopers charged into the thick of the battle.

James yelled "Bind of Pain!" and sent a green flash at one of them. Green cords similar to the Bind spell engulfed him. He cried out, and fell. A most gruesome sight happened then. Spikes came right from the cords, and stuck themselves through his body.

Blood spilled on the floor from his wounds. The cords grew larger and larger, and wrapped themselves through his body completely. He breathed his final breath, and his body grew still.

I kept a mental note to learn that spell, evil or not evil. I wanted to test it out on Madrey1. Creator roundhouse kicked James, and he fell backwards. He shot us all a filthy glare, before disappearing in a puff of black smoke.

A battle ensued. Creator roundhouse kicked James in the gut, making him fall over, groaning.

"RUN!" Creator yelled, and we ran away from the wizards. James sat up, rubbed his belly, and ordered the wizards to go after us. Osrie1 sent a fire strike at them, setting James's robes on fire. James stopped to set the fire out, and we sped ahead.

Creator stopped at a grubby stone building. It had a sign with a picture of a wizard's hat on it, and below that there was a sign with a yellow, bold GT on it. I gulped, and entered, with Creator, Capablanca, Osrie1, and Amy11 behind me.

Inside there were glass cabinets everywhere. Inside them, there were all kinds of different runes in them. There were several in there that I had never seen before. Behind a shiny wooden counter, a man stood. He wore a large, majestic cape that had a Rune crafting symbol on it. He was tall, lean, muscled, and had very handsome features. He had amber eyes, and his hair was ruffled and blonde in areas. He looked like the periphery of pure strength. His name tag read 'Aubury'.

"Hello there," Aubury said cheerfully. "Creator, how did the invasion on Operation Delrith go?" Creator looked glum. Obviously, it didn't go well. Aubury picked up the signal. His face fell.

"Does that mean Delrith is……free?" Aubury whispered. Creator nodded. From the window, we heard a smash and a roar. I peeped out, and I saw Delrith smashing up the Blue Moon Inn. I hoped Madrey1 had gone back in there for a drink.

Aubury turned towards us and put his optimistic smile back on.

"So, we have newcomers?" he said cheerfully. "I'll gladly sign up your names as friends of the Glory Troopers. After the rat attack of Tutorial Island, our master decided to start this organisation, with me as the side leader. Our master rides around on a large white dragon that he captured as a child, and raised. He saves RuneScape from catastrophes, but he won't be able to save the lands from the disaster that is apparently to come, according to Gypsy Aris. We signed up a lot of strong warriors, and gave them this protective white suit. We looked for commanders, and we found three. One is Creator here!" he said, gesturing to Creator, who was kicking thin air.

"Creator was born in Falador originally, but his mother and father were killed by rampaging people in the Falador massacre. He was picked up and kept by an old warrior. The warrior taught him the importance of Saradomin, and how to attack using only his feet. He grew up training his prayer and kicking, and he perfected his own strange move-the roundhouse kick. He left his father, and went to Varrock, where I made him commander." He finished his tale with a flourish. Creator was giving us a smug grin. I glared at him. He poked his tongue out at me. I returned that gesture. Was he mocking me?

"Slinky, come out here!" Aubury bellowed. I figure came from the door behind the counter.

She was the most amazing woman I had ever seen. She had long, billowing blonde hair, and her tight-fitting shiny white costume showed off a lot of her figure. She had blue eyes, and long, fluttery eyelashes. She was holding a blood-stained machete. She winked at me. My jaw dropped. Amy11 grunted with what seemed like annoyance next to me. Slinky raised an eyebrow at her, and stepped towards Aubury.

"Yeah?" she asked him. He grinned at her.

"There are people that are here as friends and supporters of the Glory Troopers!" he said. She smiled at him, and she stepped towards me.

"Well, hello there handsome," she said, winking at me. I felt my face go red. Amy11 looked angry. "My name is Slinky, and I am a commander here." I nodded, barely able to talk. She giggled. Amy11 grunted again from annoyance.

"Slinky was born in Varrock," Aubury began. "She was raised and taught how to use a machete. It is originally used to cut branches in Karamja, but, when used properly, it can be a powerful weapon too. Her father died several months ago because of a rampaging possessed group of zombies. Slinky and her mother and father managed to kill them, but they were so strong her father didn't survive the battle. Her mother died a few days later, from misery." I felt saddened. How awful to lose someone's parents because of mad zombies! I stepped forward, and hugged her. Amy11 glared at Slinky. Slinky just snorted. I stood there, nonplussed. Osrie1 seemed uncomfortable, Capablanca was watching with slight amusement, but Creator yelled.

"How come she gets to be comforted, but I don't?" he yelled. I gave him a look. Swearing, he left the building, blasting a waiting Dark Wizard to smithereens with his symbol of Saradomin. Aubury looked at me.

"You seem like someone who could use an adventure," he said. "I suggest going to see Gypsy Aris for more details." I left the building, and walked towards the visible Town Square, osrie1, Capablanca, Amy11, and Slinky following me.


	29. Chapter 29: Silverlight Gone

_**Chapter 29: Silverlight….Gone**_

I panted as I ran past the wreckage of the Blue Moon Inn. Amy11 caught up with me.

"Where are we going?" she wheezed, holding a stitch in her side.

"We're going to see Gypsy Aris," I replied, helping her up. She smiled at me, and then frowned.

"What do you think of Slinky?" she asked, trying to sound casual. I looked behind me at the gorgeous woman jogging happily, along with Capablanca and Osrie1.

"I don't know," I said, choosing my words carefully. Amy11 grinned at me, apparently happy. I wished I knew what she was thinking. Women were hard things to understand, I muttered inside my head. Someone should write a book about them and their little hard-to-pick-up traits. It would become an instant bestseller, most likely.

I passed the dead body of a tramp in the streets. I looked ahead at the chaos, as Dark Wizards shot spells at passing people in the square. "Okay guys, careful here," I whispered to everyone behind me. They all nodded seriously.

All of a sudden, I collapsed on the ground, holding his head. Amy11 rushed forward, and stopped me from seriously hurting myself. I felt the world around me fading….fading….fading…

_Ilookgood99 appeared in the stone circle with a blue flash. Several Dark Wizards yelled and raised the alarm. Master Samuel walked past them calmly._

"_So, Ilookgood99," he sneered. "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be in the other universe with those sleazy future kinds, eating chips and shooting with guns." Ilookgood99 looked mournful. _

"_You understand why I'm here," he whispered. Master Samuel snorted._

"_You have no chance of stopping out plans," he chuckled. "We've started brewing the potion already. Delrith has risen. Phase one has been completed and we are moving on to Phase Two." Ilookgood99 gasped. _

"_But you can't!" he spluttered. "The walls of reality will collapse if you continue with this!" Master Samuel simply chuckled._

"_I'm not sure if you've heard of the legend of Wally, judging from where you come from," Master Samuel said gleefully. "But he used a sword called Silverlight to combat Delrith. This is why we are moving in to get Silverlight as our own." Ilookgood99 howled with rage and sadness. He moved his hand, and shot a white flash at Master Samuel. Master Samuel merely swept this away._

"_You know," he began. "We have all the information needed to brew this potion. We have the book, and we've squeezed the secrets of the potion from the Herblore Mage. We really don't need her any more." With a clap of his hands, two lesser demons appeared, growling. In their arms they held the screaming, kicking Herblore Mage._

_She looked in a real state. Her clothes had several rips in them, and were covered with filth. She had two black eyes and a large lump on her head. She had several deep gashes soaked with blood all over her body._

"_What do you want with me this time?" she moaned, struggling with the two huge demons holding her. Master Samuel clicked his fingers and the demons let go of her. He clicked again, and the Herblore Mage was trapped in a bind. _

"_Thank you for your time and information," Master Samuel said. "We don't need you any more. Instant Death!" he bellowed, and a black, quick flash shot from his hand and hit her in the stomach. She was dead before she even hit the floor. Her lifeless, gaunt eyes stared hopelessly at the sky, as Death took her in his welcoming hands. A gravestone fell form the sky, and on it, it said 'In loving memory of the Herblore Mage, who died at this spot.' _

"_Once the plan is finished, there will be no need for gravestones. People who die will stay that way. As a matter of fact, it's happening right here, right now. What you just saw is a good example of that," Master Samuel chortled. Ilookgood99 groaned, and teleported away with an electric-blue flash._

I woke up, panting. I was lying on top of a pile of silk, with the owner of the clothes shop in Varrock square looking down at me.

"He's awake!" she yelled through a door, before disappearing behind it. Amy11 came rushing through it, and she jumped into my arms. I felt rather awkward. Osrie1 came in, and clapped my back.

"You gave us a fright there," he grinned. "You fainted, and there was some kind of blue flash from the stone circle. You kept muttering, 'Delrith has risen, Delrith has risen." Some dark wizards started bombarding us with spells, so we dragged you in here." I thanked him, pried Amy11 out of my arms, and set off outside.

Delrith was roaring. He was near the staff shop, and he was ripping chunks out of it. I saw a red flash wiz past me. Madrey1, roaring and wielding a dragon sword, hit Delrith with it.

"I'll murder you! Level 28, easy!" he chuckled. Delrith stomped on him. I heard a scream of pain as Madrey1 was crushed. Delrith, grunting with evil laughter, grabbed madrey1 with his scaly, flame-red hand, and threw him into the distance. I watched with amusement as madrey1 was sent flying off into the sunset.

We went into Gypsy Aris's tent. It was abandoned. All that remained was a small wooden table, chairs, and an empty shelf. There was a note on the table. I picked it up, and read it.

'To Mainiac97, they are after me. To make sure they can't read this, I used psychic paper. Only you can read this note. Silverlight is gone. I saw it. Master Samuel unlocked the triple lock and stole the sword. You could try stealing it from him, but it wouldn't be much use. You must defeat Delrith. I don't understand how, but I saw you slay him. You MUST try, for the sake of Varrock, and even the whole of RuneScape. From Gypsy Aris,' the note read.

I read it again and again and again. I couldn't believe it. The sword Silverlight, the only thing in the world that had any chance of stopping Delrith, was gone. I read the note out. Slinky whimpered. Amy11 gasped. Capablanca stood there, shocked.

"But, without Silverlight, how are you meant to stop Delrith?" Osrie1 croaked. I shrugged sadly. I heard screaming and smashing outside. I went to have a peep.

Master Samuel was walking around the Varrock fountain, grinning with triumph. Everybody that he passed seemed to fall dead at his feet. He held up Silverlight, which seemed to be faltering. Delrith was walking down the path towards the museum, roaring.

"Oh, Mainiac97," he gloated, waving his hand at a little boy, who fell dead with a shriek. "Oh, great noob hero mainiac97….. Come out and play. Come and meet your master," he said. "Why not come? It'll be a challenge to fight someone who has absorbed the energy matrix of Delrith." Slinky gasped as he said that. I looked at her, nonplussed.

"What's with the shock?" I hissed.

"If he's absorbed the Delrith energy matrix," she said shakily. "Then he's absorbed the power of an immortal demon that can only be slaughtered by one object. Delrith can recharge his; even then he'll be immortal. Master Samuel has made himself pure evil. Before, he'd be vulnerable. He'll be like any of us, really. But now, he's purified himself in Zamorak's goodness. He's turned himself immortal," she sobbed. I patted her on the back, and a tear sprung to my eye.

Master Samuel grinned, and waved his hand at the tent. It burst into flames. Black shapes danced in the smoke. We all ran for it towards the direction of the palace. Master Samuel shot a black ray at us, but it missed. He shot it again. It flew towards me, and I stood there. I watched as the ray fired towards me, and I braced myself for instant death.


	30. Chapter 30: Infinite Evil

_**Chapter 30: Infinite Evil**_

Master Samuel grinned, and waved his hand at the tent. It burst into flames. Black shapes danced in the smoke. We all ran for it towards the direction of the palace. Master Samuel shot a black ray at us, but it missed. He shot it again. It flew towards me, and I stood there. I watched as the ray fired towards me, and I braced myself for instant death.

"No!" I heard someone yell. I looked behind me, and saw the familiar figure of Sir Vant. I watched with sadness as he jumped in front of me, and took the blast. His limp figure was sent flying towards. I roared with loss as he hit a building, his armour going clank. His cold, lifeless eyes rolled into the back of his skull. I heard throbbing sobs as Amy11 mourned an old friend who sacrificed his life forever to save us.

We were snapped out of doom and gloom as even more doom and gloom floated towards us in the form of Master Samuel. His face turned into a snarl as purple lightning flashed from his body.

"Now you will die!" he bellowed, as he sent a lightning strike at me. It was knocked backwards by a flash of white light.

A tall, handsome man stood there. He was level 74. He had tanned skin, and blonde hair. He wore a tight white shiny suit which seemed shinier and purer then snow, signalling he was a commander. He held a huge, dented axe that seemed bigger then his chest in his hand. Master Samuel sniggered.

"So, we meet again, Haru axe-man," he sneered. "Last time we met, you nearly destroyed the White Knight castle in your attempt to get rid of me." Haru looked indifferent.

"I see you've absorbed the infinite evil energy of Delrith," Haru said slowly. "That's a very clever thing to do. The only consequence is that you've weakened Delrith in the process. If we can get Silverlight, Delrith would be a goner. You've got your ingredient for that curious potion of yours, you've trashed up Varrock, I think it's about time you stopped." Master Samuel looked at him incredulously.

"You expect me to give up so soon?" Master Samuel bellowed, spraying glowing spit everywhere. More purple thunder flashed from him. His eyes had a mad, evil, red glint to them. "I have the infinite power of evil rushing through my head," he continued. "I can see the truth! I CAN SEE THE WAY TO GLORY! THE PLAN MUST SUCCEED!"

I watched this mad, powerful man roast a nearby building. I backed off.

"You want a match? I'll give you a match! One strong person, and a gang of noobs!" he laughed, licking his lips. Haru stepped aside, and Creator, leading a large gang of Glory Troopers was visible. Master Samuel snorted, and he waved his hand.

Every single Glory Trooper in the army except creator burst into flames. I watched as their flesh burnt to a crisp. Flamed engulfed the army and all that was left were ashes.

"I'm the very first person to ever cast Flames of Zamorak without runes!" he announced to thin air.

Master Samuel cast a bind on all of us. The red glow in his eyes was pure evil. Several dark wizards appeared. He cast purple lightning at the sky, and simply proved his insanity of having Delrith floating in his head.

"You're mad!" Amy11 gasped. Master Samuel giggled.

"Aren't I just?" he replied, kicking her in the shins.

I waited. There must be some way of defeating Master Samuel! He had infinite evil running through his head, and that wasn't too good. It was turning him insane.

I saw Haru Axe-man nearby talking into a purple glowing sphere. Just then, I heard a crash coming from the Blue Moon Inn. A large army of level 50 Glory Troopers in shiny white suits were marching towards us, yelling out war-cries. One shot a white blast of light, and it hit us, snapping our binds. Master Samuel grinned, and disappeared in a flash of purple thunder.

A large army of dark wizards lead my James marched ahead, firing spells at the Glory Troopers. James held Silverlight in his grasp. Glory troopers got trapped in binds, which then grew spikes, killing them. I knew that spell, and I wanted to test it on Madrey1 some day.

I ran ahead into the chaos, taking out my scythe. I beheaded a dark wizard, and slashed at another. That one fired a water blast at me, which sent me flying.

A while passed. I just continued fighting for my life, felling on the edge of death. I waited for Master Samuel to join in and fry us all to the bone, like he did with that last army. I fought and fought and fought harder, getting more exhausted by the passing second. After a while, James called the brilliant words, "Retreat! Retreat! We'll call Master Samuel for this!"

That night, I collapsed on a bed in the rune shop, run my Aubury. He found us some beds and blankets on the top floor. I thought about the tiring day I had today. It started off in Lumbridge, getting ready to explore outside that peaceful, stone city. Amy11 joined later. I was drained. I was frightened of Master Samuel. He burnt about 30 Glory Troopers with one simple stroke of his hand! I was terrified of him! He was insane, in a kind of "I won! I won!" I sunk into a very restless sleep.

_Master Samuel lounged in the ruins of an old temple. Bones scattered the floor and reverends passed, howling their pain and misery to the world outside. Lava surrounded him, and he felt at home in the heart of all this evil. He had so much power flying through his head. No mere mortal could absorb such power! He thought cruelly to himself. _

_Just then, a puff of black smoke appeared, and a rather restless dark wizard stood there. Master Samuel groaned, and stood up, purple thunder shooting from his body._

"_What is it?" he said, impatience licking at his body. The dark wizard gulped, and talked._

"_It's the army. They were defeated, but we still have Silverlight," he said. Master Samuel roared with utter rage. How could they lose to a pathetic bunch of Saradomin supporters! He fired a purple lightning bolt at the dark wizard, who screamed with pain is he was roasted alive. After ten unpleasant seconds of agony, all that remained was a pile of ashes, bones, and charred runes. Master Samuel went on to demolish all nearby ghosts, reverends and giants. The power of evil was taking over his body, and he felt so alive with malice!_

I woke up with a flash. I was breathing heavily, and I felt really sweaty. I ran to the window, and the contents of my stomach emptied as I mulled through my dream. It felt like trying to hold water, the memories were ebbing away. I remembered the hate that Master Samuel felt. I remembered the screams of pain as the poor dark wizard messenger was burnt. I remember the gruesome sight of the charred remains. I gulped for air, and I vomited again.

After a long wash and a hearty breakfast of cooked meat and eggs, I repeated what I remembered of the dream to Osrie1, Amy11, Capablanca, Slinky, Aubury, Haru and Creator. They all seemed shaken at the evil of Master Samuel.

"Right," Haru said quietly. "This has gone far enough. We have to fight back. If it is the last thing we ever do, we have to get Silverlight!" We all cheered, and began discussing possible plans.


	31. Chapter 31: The Exterminators

_**Chapter 31: The Exterminators**_

**One month later……**

I trekked through the ruins of the Blue Moon Inn, and watched as the Dark Wizards tried to force entry into Varrock castle. The buildings that Delrith and the dark wizards destroyed included The Blue Moon Inn.

The Blue Moon Inn was destroyed by Delrith when he just rose. The invasion took Varrock by surprise, and Delrith smashed the Blue Moon Inn as his first destruction.

There was also the staff shop that Osrie1 visited once while I was in the general store. Delrith smashed that building up in a scorching rage. The shop owner managed to escape, but just barely.

Another trophy of the invasion was Gypsy Aris's tent. It was where the gypsy herself lived, but she packed up her stuff and fled when she found out she was wanted by all Dark wizards, grand order of Master Samuel. He was an evil bugger, I thought. He had infinite evil rushing through his head after he absorbed the energy matrix of Delrith.

Another building that was taken by utter surprise and nearly demolished was the sword shop that lay opposite. It had great chunks of brick, cement and rubble lying everywhere, but was still intact and open for business.

I had officially joined the Glory Troopers as a spy agent, as well as Capablanca (who had experience with the White Knights), Amy11 (who had amazing self-defence skills) and Osrie1 (who, according to Haru axe-man, seemed good at magic).

In the last month, I had murdered countless dark wizards. I had attempted, more then once, to attack the demon that was now angrily fighting Varrock guards, who had done their job in protecting the castle. I even foolishly tried beating Master Samuel, who vaporised my scythe, sending me running back to Draynor to replace it. I had grown up to combat level nine, and that made me strong enough to fight harder.

Aubury had given me and the gang a proper room of our own (Slinky, Creator and Haru had their own). We had decided to stay in Varrock for a while, until it was safe to continue on our travels. Slinky wanted to travel with us, while Creator and Haru wished to stay behind for their duties.

Aubury replaced all my runes when I ran out. I was strong enough in magic to cast fire strike now! He gave me a little money every time I successfully completed a mission. I saved up enough to buy myself an iron chainmail. After that, I split the extra money into half. One half would go in my bank (I discovered Aubury used a lot of money to buy himself his own bank booth in the base basement, saving us the pressure of walking into danger to get to a bank), while I spent the other half buying more arrows. I went up to buying iron arrows instead of bronze, and I could now use an oak long bow.

I sighed to myself, and walked on. In the distance I saw two laughing figures. One seemed very familiar.

"Hello, this is Glory Trooper temporary spy, Mainiac97," I called out, holding up my Glory Trooper ID. "Identify yourselves."

They got closer, and I saw the familiar figure of Madrey1. He leered down at me. His friend went past him, and glared at me.

This person was strong! We wore black, silky clothes, and a highwayman's mask. He held a Black Knight's black sword, and his eyes had a red glint to them. He had smooth, black hair.

"I am Phantom," he said silkily. Everything about him seemed smooth and silky. "I am the co-founder of the noob exterminators, which include me and madrey1. You have no authority over us, since we were given permission to start by our lord and Master, Master Samuel." I groaned. Master Samuel was taking over! It wasn't fair!

I got my communicator sphere, and declared code red on it. Madrey1 guffawed, and Phantom bit his lip.

With a strong, surprisingly slick upper cut, Phantom knocked me off my feet. Madrey1 went towards me, and grabbed my legs. He swung me around, the forces of gravity making it stronger. I yelled as I was spun around. Phantom chuckled lightly. With a crash that I'm sure people in Lumbridge could hear, he sent me flying to the concrete floor.

Using reflexes I got while training with the Glory Troopers, I reached for my runes and sent several fire strikes at Phantom. With a wave of his hand the fire was extinguished, and ashes scattered at his feet. I reached for my scythe, quick as the wind, and sliced Madrey1 with it. It clanked against the armour, doing nothing whatsoever to it.

We spent at least ten minutes brawling. They worked perfectly together. Phantom would use the power of darkness magic to dismiss any attacks that were sent his way. Madrey1 would then rush forward while the target was weak to attack full pelt, using his dragon armour to absorb any attacks that the opponent dealt. Phantom would then finish the weak, battered opponent off with a swift upper cut. I managed to avoid this tactic by ignoring Phantom.

The good thing about Phantom was that people under-estimated him. They would guess he was the most vulnerable because he wore his black silk outfit, compared to Madrey1's tough-nut armour. Phantom had so much evil energy he could sweep away any attack. I went straight for Madrey1, aiming for his face. For the third time, I disposed of his helmet by throwing it in the river in the distance. I pummelled his face with my scythe, and then when he tried to recover I pummelled him again. He, being the giant strong person he is, threw me into Phantom.

When Phantom tried to stop me, I dodged his finish-off upper cut with his curious sword, and ignored him. That was all I could do.

Sooner or later, backup came in the form of Creator, Haru axe-man and Amy11. I warned them not to attack Phantom. Amy11 rushed towards Madrey1, who carelessly sent her flying right into Creator. Both of them were knocked senseless by Phantom's powerful upper cut.

Haru rushed towards madrey1, who tried to dispose of him using a dragon scimitar. Haru blocked it with his giant axe.

"This one isn't a noob, he's a challenge," Madrey1 taunted. Phantom stopped to watch, amused.

"You, with your tough dragon armour, and your noob-killing group, think you're so good, but I'm going to show you otherwise," Haru snarled. Madrey1's taunting grin turned to a snarl.

They battled it our. Scimitar clashed with axe, as both fought for the victory that was sorely needed. Madrey1 elbowed Haru in the face, and Haru cut his elbow with the axe. Madrey1 aimed a misjudged kick at Haru, which was swerved off into a damaged brick wall.

They must have battled, for at least twenty minutes. Haru seemed cool and relaxed, but was starting to lose his temper. Madrey1 just let loose his anger. Haru collapsed, tired out, and Madrey1 prepared to hit the final blow.

There was a cracking sound, and Madrey1 gasped in pain. Madrey1 crumpled into a heap of dragon armour and muscles. Phantom hissed between his teeth, and scooped up madrey1's body. He was gone in a flash of a black silk cloak.

The person that crumpled Madrey1 came from the dust. His features came into deep relief, and I gasped at what I saw.


	32. Chapter 32: The Black Guard

_**Chapter 32: The Black Guard**_

A figure came out from the dust. He had long, lank auburn hair, which was half-hidden by a helmet with two spikes producing. He wore solid, heavy granite armour, and he held a large granite maul in his hand.

"Hello, I am Mark," he grunted. "You called me?" he said, turning his head slowly to Creator. Creator nodded.

I turned my head to this strong, silent, creepy person, Mark. He turned his head to me. His eyes glowed purple.

"YOU!" he bellowed, making me jump out of my skin. "It's you! I sense the aura around you. You, the person from a different world, will stop the darkness. The darkness, never stopping, never halting, never ceasing….. You have something on your back!"

I felt it again I heard a clicking, a mechanical hissing on my back. I felt it, I sensed it, and it felt super glued there. I tried to reach, but my fingers clasped in thin air. As soon as it started, it was gone.

We walked back to the base. Mark explained who he was.

"I am a warrior from Seer's Village. I was raised by a warrior to take advantage of pure strength before I started my RuneScape adventure on Tutorial Island. I also had the gift of seers. I could sense the future, but it isn't as powerful as the seers in the village. I am famous for my fighting, so the glory troopers asked me to come and help. Outside Varrock all forms of communications to the city have been destroyed, and nobody knows what is happening," he said. I nodded, barely paying attention.

I couldn't deny something was happening now. I had spent the last month trying to knock down evil forces, for goodness's sake! It all seemed to centre on me. Master Samuel and James seemed especially intent on killing me off. Ilookgood99 was trying to warn me of something. Psychics sensed the infinite darkness coming closer, and people saw something on my back. Not that I could deny having something on my back.

I made a mental list of all the strange, evil things that happened. First, last year, in Tutorial Island, Master Samuel attempted to take over Tutorial Church. Back then I didn't think much of it, but now I was concerned whenever master Samuel came into the picture.

Then, of course, was the Tutorial Island rat attack. I still have nightmares of the countless amount of rats scuttling around me, jumping up at me, hissing at me, generally attepmpting to disembowel me.

After that there was that horrible three-headed dragon that tried to set fire to Lumbridge. Sir Vant was so brave fighting the brute. Even bravery didn't stop Master Samuel wiping his life away permanently…..

I would never forget the following night. That night I spent in Farmer Fred's house, learning how to farm. There was an awful unnatural sorm drawing in, and Farmer Fred got attacked by an Evil Chicken, therefore spawning a permanent fear of chickens.

There was Christmas. Christmas was pretty cheerful, nothing unnatural. Nothing unnatural except, of course, for the fact that Jack Frost was coming. I remember him clearly. His evil uncaring attitude to the world around him was awful. That was until he was literally 'grounded' by his beautiful mother. That meant he was actually frozen to the ground. I think he was taken home.

Obviously, there was Delrith. His rising brought misery to the whole of Varrock. I hoped to end it all soon. Hopefully, if I could get Silverlight, I'd be able to slay Delrith and end the war of Varrock. Apparently, the world outside Varrock didn't have a clue. All they knew was that Delrith was spotted. I've been buying and reading the paper.

We arrived at the Rune Shop. Aubury greeted us cheerily.

"I have a piece of good news and one piece of bad news," he said. "The good news is that I have found a plan to counter the sudden attack. The bad news, however, is that Master Samuel has hired the Black Guard." Creator, Mark and Capablanca gasped. The others, including me, stared, bewildered. Mark cleared his throat, and explained.

"The Black Guard is consisted of merciless, powerful people. Many years ago, after the God Wars, the king of that time decided to create beings of pure strength, by using the essence of an evil warrior. Hundreds of these warriors were made, to protect RuneScape.

"The Black Guard project went brilliantly, but the Black Guard were too powerful, and any evil people that tried to do crime were mashed down into pulps. The king didn't want this to happen, so he sold the will of the Black Guard to a rich man who had a big house.

"Since then, the Black Guard has been sold from person to person. If Master Samuel can get his hands on hundreds of immortal, strong soldiers, it isn't good. He could terrorise the whole of RuneScape with them!" Mark explained.

I felt shock flood my entire body. Master Samuel had several hundred of these soldiers? That could mean nothing but death and destruction.

Aubury explained his plan to us. Master Samuel had announced that he was going to enter the constant battle and try and force entry into Varrock Palace, which had been holding up for almost a whole month. He was going to bring Silverlight with him, so nobody could steal it in the Wilderness. As if anyone would dare enter the Wilderness nowadays, I thought.

Our plan was to ambush Master Samuel, trying to fight off any Black Guards. I thought that was going to be impossible. Then, if we got the chance, we were meant to take Silverlight, and use it to send Delrith back to his prison in hell, and to slay as many warriors as possible with it. If we were lucky, after that Master Samuel and all of his troops would flee.

We left the base, 100 Glory Troopers, and me, Aubury, Mark, Capablanca, Slinky, Amy11, Osrie1, Haru, and Creator in the lead. I gulped nervously as I heard crashes, bangs, screams, and yells ahead of me. I saw a burst of fire overhead.

We walked right into the centre of the wreckage, and I gasped as several Black Guards marched towards us.

The Black Guards wore shiny black armour. Black plate legs, black plate bodies, black medium helmets were only some of the armour they wore. The skin that was visible was a charred, flashy colour, and their eyes were completely red. They held long black sticks with a hole in the end, with a pipe that connected to a shiny metal bag on their back. In shiny leather black belts they had black swords, black clubs and a black, cracked stone rune with a large red button on it. One of them marched towards me, and pointed the black stick at me.

Out of the hole in the stick, flames came. They were angry, red, hot, and destructive. I yelped as the flames burned a hole in my trousers. A painful black burn was there. I hit the Black Guard on the head with my scythe. It hit with a clank, but didn't do anything.

The Black Guard took out his club, and hit me smartly over the head with it. Stars burst out in front of my eyes, and I fell backwards, dazed. The other Black Guards that had been sent to hold us off marched forwards, using their flame throwers to make the others back off. One Black Guard hit me over the head with the club, and I was knocked out.


	33. Chapter 33: The War of Varrock

_**Chapter 33: The War of Varrock**_

I woke up about two hours later. I rubbed my head groggily, and sat up.

I looked at my surroundings. I was lying on a pile of white blankets, surrounded by wounded, moaning, or sleeping people. I saw Slinky going around, offering people food, drink and bandages. We were in Thessila's clothes shop. Thessila herself was piling more white blankets everywhere. I jumped up, and ran towards Slinky.

"What happened?" I cried. She smiled.

"A Black Guard knocked you out. You were bleeding, so I dragged you here. As you can see, I'm level 12, so I'm no good at fighting. The only weapon I have is a dagger, and I haven't used that for ages. So, I've been assigned a mission to heal people here. Thessila has closed her shop so injured soldiers can rest, and Mark and Osrie1 are guarding it." I nodded.

"Where is everyone, though?" I asked.

"You and I are here," she grinned. I heard a scream and a crash outside. "Osrie1 and Mark are guarding the shop, though Master Samuel is apparently not interested in destroying fashion. Aubury and Capablanca are using magic in the castle to fight. Amy11 is attacking the small possessed animals, such as rats, bats, goblins, and even zombies and skeletons. Creator is in the thick of it, battling it out with Delrith, and so is Haru." I bit my lip anxiously.

"Where's my bag?" I asked. She pointed in a corner, where my bag lay there, safe. I grabbed it, took out thirty or so runes, reloaded my arrow holder with iron arrows, and set out to battle.

It was pandemonium outside. Black Guard, Dark wizards, Monks of Zamorak seemed to be acting on their own free will. Creatures like zombies, skeletons, rats, bats, and even ghosts were possessed, fighting at twenty times their original strength.

Several zombies spotted me and went towards me. Moaning, with filthy, ragged clothes, and pale, bloodless skin, their ugly faces turned towards me. They walked towards me slowly, brandishing swords and daggers. Their red eyes glowed in the darkness that was the sky. I looked in the distance, and the black clouds stopped when they exited Varrock soil.

I sent a flame strike at one. It set fire, and fell backwards. Other zombies were attracted towards me, set to kill.

I attempted to kill them off, one by one. I shot an arrow through one's eye, I chopped off one of their heads, I set fire to them, but that didn't stop them. Level 21, and mad, they were relentless. I could only stall them. I sighed, and awaited a very painful death.

There was a flash of white light, and all the zombies were blasted back. They crumbled into dust before my very eyes. The person who saved me turned out to be a grinning Mark.

Several transparent ghosts glided towards us. They had two red dots on their upper bodies, showing that they were possessed. They howled with their pain and misery, and swiped at us.

I shot a water strike at one. It went right through its body, but it was obviously injured. Mark sent a water wave at them from behind me. All of them howled again, and swiped at me. I was blasted back, while Mark continued to fight.

I sat up, and ran into James. He sneered, and took out a faintly familiar mithril dagger. He threw it at me. I dodged, but it turned around and hit me in the bottom. I screamed with pain, and threw the dagger at James.

It hit him, but didn't do any damage. He sent purple flames at me. They formed into a giant purple demon made form the power of evil. He simply laughed as I struggled. I sent an arrow at it and it dissolved into dust at impact.

I spent the next ten minutes fighting off this demon. James made it harder by sending random evil spells at me.

After a final swipe to the chest, the smoky demon roared, and collapsed into dust.

James, snarling, stepped towards me, brandishing a staff of Zamorak. He sent several black spells at me, which I avoided. He sent one at my face, and I ducked at the last second. A searing sensation on my head signalled my hair had just been burned. I sent an arrow at James.

With a wave of his long-fingered hand, the arrow was burnt. He sent a fire wave at me. I dodged, and it hit a house behind me. I hit him with my scythe but it barely hurt him. Master Samuel had obviously trained him up well.

There was a blast of fire from behind, and Delrith was marching. His eyes were scarlet, and from his body, flames were spurting. James disappeared with a puff of smoke, yelling 'See you in hell!'

I dodged a burst of fire, and ran past Delrith. With an almighty roar, he swiped at me, sending me into the general store. I jumped up, rubbed my sore back, and sent an arrow crashing into a skeleton.

I battled valiantly with a horde of possessed zombies, I nearly got shredded by rampaging rats, and I even surprisingly took out several monks of Zamorak, but the war continued. The general store got blown apart by a burst of demon-fire, and I saw the bartender of the Blue Moon Inn get roasted alive. I searched for Master Samuel, but there was no sign of him.

Osrie1 ran past me, yelling. He was munching a meat pie with one hand, and battling ferociously with a purple smoke demon using a sword with the other. I chuckled silently, and ran ahead.

It was even worse in the castle! The Varrock guards were doing their jobs well, but it was falling apart now. Several rooms had been blown apart, and creatures and people alike scattered the castle. The empty thrones of the evacuated king and queen had been melted into a puddle of burnt slink and gold. Several zombies were feasting on screaming, dying chefs.

I went to the top tower. I looked below, and saw war and wreckage. It was sickening. But I heard an even worse voice from behind me.

A fireball flew past my shoulder. "Hot enough for you?" the voice of an insane master Samuel taunted. He was wearing his red robes, but his eyes were completely red. His skin radiated evil heat, and he held a fading Silverlight in his grasp. There were a dozen dark wizards, including James, behind him. He chuckled, and sent another fireball at me.

It was about to hit me, when Capablanca put it out with a water bolt. Capablanca then went into a furious duel with another five wizards. James, smiling wickedly, cast a dark spell at me. I ducked just in time. James jumped forward, brandishing his staff of Zamorak. I roundhouse-kicked him (a move Creator taught me) and he fell off the edge of the tower. Screaming, he fell into the flames and wreckage of war. I wasn't sure, but I think I saw a puff of smoke from where he used to be. I hoped he got roasted by the flames.

My heart and soul has been affected greatly by the war. I wanted to end it now. If only I could stop Master Samuel and Delrith, I could give Varrock a chance to rebuild itself. The world outside the sealed gates of Varrock, beyond barbarian village, didn't have any idea of what was happening. It was better that way, in my opinion. Master Samuel and the legion of Zamorak wouldn't reveal their plans completely for a while.

I'd bought a paper pad in the Varrock market. I'd kept my peacock quill and bottle of ink with me permanently now. I'd been writing down the evidence I'd gathered. So far, I know that it has something to do with a potion. Zamorak was a major part of it all, since all Zamorak supporters were part of it.

I swiped my scythe at Master Samuel. It was a very unwise move. He knocked the scythe out of my hands, and it fell into the flames below, licking at the tower.

I tried everything I could to do some amount of damage to Master Samuel. I sent spells at him, but they bounced from his skin back to me. I sent arrows at him, but they dissolved at contact of his body. I hit him on the head with my emergency bronze sword, for god's sake!

Master Samuel, looking bored, sent two dark wizards at me. They ran at me, teeth bared. At a completely random idea from Capablanca, I used the freeze emote. My body froze into a cool, friendly puddle. The Dark Wizards froze for a second. I pushed the ice statue Dark Wizards off the edge of the tower when I regained my unfrozen form.

Another wizard ran towards me, but when I used my trick emote he jumped out of his skin, and fell off the edge of the crumbling tower. Capablanca was on a very dangerous spot, trying to trick people into falling off the edge. The edge he was standing on was crumbling…. I jumped in and pushed him away. The rest of the dark wizards fell off the tower, screaming.

Master Samuel roared. He swiped at me, but it missed just in time. Capablanca hit him with his steel sword, but it bent in half and melted. Master Samuel clapped his hands. The tower burst into flames, and collapsed with us still on.

I screamed as I and Capablanca fell to our dooms. Master Samuel, still holding Silverlight, waved at us from the roof of a nearby house. I was falling…falling…..falling……..

Someone grabbed us by the waist, and carried us to the roof Master Samuel was on. His happy, smiling face soured up immediately.

"So, Ilookgood99, you've come to poke your nose in a bit deeper?" Master Samuel taunted. Ilookgood99, his robes swishing softly, nodded.

"If that's your way of saying 'saving innocent people', yes, I am being nosy," Ilookgood99 answered. Master Samuel guffawed.

Master Samuel sent a blast of darkness at Ilookgood99. Ilookgood99 sent a blast of light back. They collided in the middle, blowing up the house, sending all of us flying into the ruins of the general shop. Silverlight lay a foot away from me, while Master Samuel was sprawled under the smashed counter. Ilookgood99 was nowhere to be seen. Capablanca was being helped up by Creator, who had been attracted to the noise. I grabbed Silverlight.

The war in front of me stopped to watch. I held the cold, shiny sword in my grasp, amazed at what I accomplished, with a bit of help. I held Silverlight high up, and everyone that wasn't a possessed creature or a part of the evil side of the war cheered.

White light glowed from the core of the sword. The wreckage of war was illuminated by the most pure sword in the whole of RuneScape (maybe apart from the god sword). But the moment of glory was ruined by the roaring figure of Delrith.

His beady red eyes eyed Silverlight almost nervously. Master Samuel sat up, worry in his red, mad eyes. I ran forward, and stabbed Delrith with Silverlight.

Delrith screamed with agony. The huge demon stumbled back, scarlet blood pouring from his wound like molten lava. I hit him again with the sword. He roared again, and burst fire from his nostrils. I hit him in the eye with the sword. He began to crumble.

Red light came from his entire body. I stumbled back, frightened. The red light went flying towards a red, swirling portal that opened up in the stone circle. The energy form of Delrith roared a final time, before it was sucked back into its prison and trapped there forever.

Master Samuel ran forward. The red glint in his eye was disappearing. He was screaming. The truth hit me like a giant cart.

"You're mortal again!" I gasped. Then I grinned, and whooped. "YOU HEAR THAT, YOU LOSER? YOU'RE MORTAL AGAIN!" I jumped around in a victory dance, and did the Dragon-fire emote. Master Samuel's face fell. He turned towards the possessed animals and dark wizards and monks of Zamorak.

"Retreat now!" he yelled. The red glow in the possessed animal's eyes disappeared. The skeletons and zombies crumbled to dust, while the ghosts faded away. The rats squeaked, and were roasted. The Dark Wizards and monks of Zamorak were screaming and running away. Laughing Glory Troopers, guards of Varrock and citizens that stayed behind to fight tried to slaughter the escaping dark people.

Master Samuel had lost his evil glow. The energy matrix of Delrith had been sucked away as well. Master Samuel was his old, mortal self. It was most likely that the Dark Wizards and monks of Zamorak would go back to where they were, preparing for the next unknown step. One thing was for sure, though: we hadn't won. They had gotten essence of Delrith for the potion they wanted, and the war was only to make the most of the situation. The darkness would continue to come closer, never to stop, never to halt. Master Samuel was still alive to lead the 'plan'. Speaking of him now, he had just disappeared in a puff of the usual smoke.

I sighed, and happily put Silverlight on my belt. It had faded now. It wasn't really the pure sword it was a few minutes ago. That only happened to get rid of Delrith. Now, it was just a more powerful sword. I set off past the stone circle, where the dark wizards were regrouping. I went past the Champions place, which had been untouched in the war. I went down the stone path, and entered Lumbridge territory, to get a new scythe (again).


	34. Chapter 34: Vote for me!

_**Chapter 34: Vote for me!**_

I yawned, and sat up.

It had been a week since the glorious day when I slew Delrith, and sent Master Samuel and James back into hiding, and received Silverlight as my very own.

I sat up, and smoothed my blanket out. I put on my shiny coat I bought before the Varrock war, picked up my bag, put on my weapons belt, and set off for breakfast.

I went downstairs to the small, cramped kitchen. The stove was off, the sink was dripping, and it was deserted. I took a look at the clock on the wall, and realised with a gasp that it was 5:30am.

Sighing, I took Silverlight from my belt, and refilled my arrow pouch on my back. I went into the main shop area, and took out several runes. For slaying Delrith, and ending the war, Aubury said I could help myself to runes.

I went out to the back garden. I could really do with some possessed animals or dark wizards for training, I thought. I waved Silverlight around a bit, and accidently beheaded several daisies.

After an hour of beating up the old, useless back fence with my sword and nearly setting the garden on fire with a fire strike, I went inside, exhausted, and with my hair singed. Someone was already sitting by the breakfast table, nibbling on a piece of bread.

Amy11 looked very pretty in her best flowery dress and pink bow. When she saw me, she jumped up and gave me a big hug.

After hugging her back a little reluctantly, I decided to make breakfast for everyone today. I put several dozen eggs and pieces of meat on the stove. Amy11 finished her bread, and went up to me, sniffing.

"Can I smell something singed?" she asked. I smoothed my hair down nervously.

I liked Amy11. She was very pretty, and I was sure she liked me back. She was kind, sweet, and cute, but not drop-dead gorgeous like Slinky. I wasn't sure, but I thought I preferred Amy11. I had been developing feelings for her lately.

I heard sizzling, and I hurriedly scooped up the meat and eggs off the stove before they burnt. I scooped up several plates, and put breakfast out. Amy11 watched me curiously from the corner.

I ate my breakfast quietly. She decided to take some more bread from the bread bin. I heard footsteps coming down the stairs, and Osrie1 came in, yawning, breaking the awkward tension between me and Amy11.

Slowly, the kitchen filled as people came down to eat their breakfast. After breakfast, Slinky cleared up the table. I sat there, eating some extra meat, when Aubury made an announcement.

"Tonight, to celebrate the victory of Varrock, there is going to be a formal dance in the newly-repaired Blue Moon Inn. Free drinks and food will be served, but you will need a partner to enter the dance hall," Aubury announced. "Now, for the rest of the day, we will be helping repair the general store. Oh, and might I add, there is going to be a VIP in the dance hall too."

For the last week, we had been helping to repair Varrock from the disaster that has occurred last month. We were part of making supplies for rebuilding it. Aubury gave us each a list of items to fetch or make. At the end, depending on how much of our list we completed, Aubury rewarded us. The last time he gave me 1200gp! I was slowly, but surely saving up my money.

We stepped outside, and were greeted by a familiar poster that read 'Vote David for king-the man you can trust!'

David was a rather mysterious king who had been trying to build his way through the ranks since we were in Lumbridge. Posters were put up everywhere, and people gave you free badges that read 'I support King David'. I was wearing one right now, as a matter of fact.

King David had been to several cities and places all over the world. It was rumoured that he was the cure for the disease of evil that was spreading in the world. I quite liked him, but I wasn't sure why. Was it his promises to change the world? Was it his repetitive slogan, 'Vote David for king-the man you can trust'? I guess I just liked him. He seemed good….When I got the chance to vote for him, I would vote for him.

I heard cheering and shouting coming from the rebuilt square. Curiously, I went towards the square.

There was a large platform next to the beautiful fountain that had been returned to its former glory. There were lots of people standing around the platform. On the platform, a familiar man stood there.

King David stood there, smiling and waving at his screaming supporters. All of them were holding 'vote David for king' flags. He wore a black suit, and had a smooth, black haircut. He had shining eyes, one that was brown, and the other that was green. His teeth were white, straight, clean and polished. He looked very nice, the perfect person to be king of RuneScape.

"My citizens!" David called out, and the crowd went silent instantly. "If I become king, then I will help. I will change RuneScape, and destroy all poverty and evil. I will not hide anything from anybody. We must change! We must change our way of thinking, stop thinking about change and change ourselves so we DO change, not THINK change! I will heal the world! Vote for me, and the world will be a better place!"

There was uproar. Everybody was calling out 'David! David!' He was waving at everybody, but when his eye caught mine he gasped, and nearly fell over.

Several Varrock guards pushed back the audience, and David walked down the stone path leading towards Lumbridge. I was sure he glared at me when he passed me, but his face broke into a grin when he saw my badge.

I nodded at him, and rushed towards the rest of the gang, who were cheering. We went towards the wrecked building in the distance, where people were rebuilding. So far, they had only succeeded in building one side of it.


	35. Chapter 35: The Easter Disaster

_Hello! Happy Easter 2009!**

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_**Chapter 35: The Easter Disaster**_

We began work on the destroyed, collapsed stone building. I was sent to get more wood. I sighed. This was exhausting. We should be celebrating our grand victory, not working! Wiping my sweaty brow, I took out my brand new iron axe, and began chipping at an oak tree. My woodcutting had risen while I was working the last week, and, to make it easier to cut oak (Creator had been doing the work before me) Aubury bought me a new iron axe.

The axe was made of well-crafted shiny iron. It was very solid, and extremely reliable. Even so, it was a very hard task using it to cut oak, and I had only chipped a quarter of it after at least ten minutes of tiring work.

I don't know how long I spent cutting only one wheelbarrow full of measly logs. Before I knew it, we were sitting on the grass, eating food. Slinky had been to the Blue Moon Inn to buy us a bunch of sandwiches (some filled with boneless chicken, others filled with juicy meat, and a few expensive ones filled with a sizzling new meat called steak), some drinks (from mild orange juice to bubbling Dragon Bitter) and even a lump of lettuce for almost-bulimic Amy11.

When I finished my sandwich filled with a steak called gammon, which was thick, juicy, chewy and rather salty, Haru came with surprises for all of us; snack-sized Easter eggs filled with cream!

They were lovely. They were covered with colourful wrappings with the words 'Crème Egg' stamped on them. Haru explained that it was a rare egg that had been delivered by Ilookgood99 to every pub and restaurant. Knowing Ilookgood99, it was likely to be something else from some other mysterious world (I still hadn't forgotten last Halloween, and the minty sweet that was called chewing gum). When I bit into it, soft, delicious cream filled my mouth. It was luxurious, and the chocolate was very tasty too. I closed my eyes, and savoured the taste and smell of the delicious treat. Haru told us it would be served, for free, in the party tonight.

I remembered then. I moaned, as my head filled with flashes. It was that boy again…..he looked like me, except a bit more tubby….he was wearing a strange hat shaped like a rabbit….he was holding a basket, and looking wildly around a garden for little egg-shaped pieces of plastic….he was giving the plastic over to a woman, who gave him boxes with giant, hollow chocolate eggs in them….I faintly heard the words 'Easter egg hunt'….. I groaned, and sat up, sweating.

Was this supposed to be another illusion of the mind?! All these flashbacks were very confusing! What did they mean?! What did they represent?! Why were they happening?! I decided to forget about it for now, and continue work.

Just as I sat up, I saw a hole in the ground near us, with purple light coming from it. I looked inside the purple hole curiously, and a pair of fluffy, long white ears popped out.

A white, fluffy, plump little rabbit hopped out of the hole, looking rather worried. He looked relieved when he saw us.

"Hello there," he said. "I am the Easter Bunny." Amy11 jumped for joy.

"Easter Bunny! Could we have some eggs please?" she cried, jumping on the screaming bunny. There was a loud thumping sound, and Any11 was sent flying into a tree, while the Easter Bunny triumphantly held up a large clay carrot that had obviously been used for self-defence.

"Being the Easter Bunny, I'd be more then happy to give you eggs, especially since it is Easter today, but, unfortunately, I can't. I've invented this carrot-hammer to stop mad fans getting over their head," he explained. "I heard about some very skilled heroes that saved Varrock from some mysterious tragedy. I don't know much about it, but I can find things out that normal people can't. I need the help of great heroes."

"You see, I went on vacation, since I'm getting on in ears-years, sorry for the pun-to a little desert island called Karamja, nice place that is-and I left my son in charge of the factory. He is, shall I say, not suited for work, and the egg factory was in ruins when I came back. I asked him about it, and he mentioned something about explosions and it being my job to deal with it, being the lazy bunny he is."

The little bunny looked rather miserable. I petted him on the head.

"What can we do about it? We need to be bunny-sized to help you, and even then we don't know what happened ourselves," Haru said kindly. The bunny smiled at that.

"I have Easter magic up my fingertips," he said. "I may be getting on in ears-years, sorry- but that doesn't mean I'm not able to do my job. It's just it's getting harder. You don't mind helping me, do you?" he said, looking up at us anxiously. I nodded eagerly, hoping I could get a reward, like I did when I helped Maggie the witch and the snow queen.

The little bunny clicked his fingers, muttered some words, and I felt very peculiar. It felt like my body was melting into itself. I began to shrink, and hair sprouted all over my body. I grew two large ears, and my clothes seemed to be dissolving into me. When the process was complete, I was a small bunny.

The Easter bunny gestured for us to follow him. We all nodded, and we hopped after him into the hole. I felt myself blushing at Amy11's cute pink fur.

We all fell into a muddy path. Brown, sticky mud surrounded the whole area. This path was rather small, about the same size as a sewerage pipe, too small for my human body to go through. It smelled curiously like melting chocolate. I sniffed eagerly, my little pink nose high in the air. I heard Aubury laugh at me from the front.

We hopped down several tunnels, finally arriving at a large muddy room. I felt my hair shrinking into my skin, my body changing back to normal. I heard Slinky explaining, nearly in tears with laughter, on how I was sniffing to a chuckling Osrie1. It smelt _beautiful _to me though.

I saw several huge machines working at making chocolate eggs. First, I saw a large cauldron with several bunnies next to it. Ingredients were being added to the mix in the cauldron, like cocoa leaves and milk and cocoa butter, then being poured into buckets. The buckets would then move up the belt being powered by bunnies.

I saw squirrels hard at work, sorting good nuts from bad ones and putting the good ones in particular buckets of chocolate mix, only the special nutty ones. They slapped stickers on the ones with nuts in them, so the workers could package them differently. The mix would go up the belt and would be poured into different egg-shaped moulds (some for the nut ones, the rest for normal ones). I was then surprised-an ice imp would breathe into a glass tube, and steam-like stuff would go down the tube and onto the mould. When the mould opened up, the cold chocolate eggs were carefully taken from them by bunnies and put onto a different conveyor belt.

When they travelled even further up the belt, several bunnies would wrap them up according to nuts or nut-free, and put them onto another belt.

Baffled, I asked the Easter Bunny what was wrong. He sighed sadly, and gestured for us to look up the last belt.

The machine there was supposed to check them for anything out of order. There were imps there who scanned the eggs, destroyed the ones which had something wrong with them. Eggs seemed to go inside, but didn't come back out. The Easter Bunny explained that he couldn't check the machine, since it was only designed for imp entrance, for security purposes.

There was a large guardian imp guarding the entrance, who-surprise, surprise-has red, glowing eyes. He was larger then the average imp, and more muscular. Every time the Easter bunny tried to go near the guardian imp, he was knocked away.

"So, you want us to take down this imp?" Capablanca asked thoughtfully. The Easter Bunny nodded. "Why don't you just shut down the factory? I'd stop the people inside the machine from getting the eggs." The Easter Bunny replied, "If I do that the factory would never restart again. The only shutdown switch that's here is the permanent shutdown."

"It isn't going to be easy," the plump bunny warned, as I approached the guardian imp. The imp turned on me. I drew Silverlight, preparing to behead this troublesome imp. The imp jumped on my face and began tearing at my eyes.

I screamed with pain, and pushed the imp off roughly. The imp stared at me with its cold, red eyes that made me think of dark tunnels. I rubbed blood out of my eyes. Aubury fired a fire wave at it. A smallish wave of sizzling-hot flames leapt at the imp, but it hit and didn't affect it. Amy11 jumped forward with her pink-tipped dagger and tried to tear at the imp's chest, but the imp sent her flying in the opposite direction with its small fist.

Haru Axe-man jumped at it with his giant, hand-crafted axe. The imp dented it with its fist. I ran forward and hit it with my scythe. The imp moaned in agony, and knocked me into the squirrel machine. Squirrels scampered, and returned, flicking bad nuts at me with fury. I dodged the nuts, and charged at the imp. I sent several arrows flying at its head. They hit, and its face was peppered with blood. It yelled out in fury, and smashed the floor. Nearby bunnies, and the people, tripped over as the small earthquake rattled the factory.

We must have spent hours trying to tackle this small, but very tough and possessed imp. It kept sending us flying, and goodness knows how many runes and arrows I wasted on this relentless monster. Haru checked his watch, and we saw it had been two hours since we had had lunch. I hoped there was a lot of food in this celebration in the Blue Moon Inn.

After we were about to give up and give in, I had a small idea. I wasn't sure if it was going to work, but it was worth a try. I summoned up the trick power, and bats flew from almost nowhere. The others where used to this so they didn't flinch, but the guardian imp screamed out in terror. While the imp was terrified, I grabbed its tiny little fist, and froze. It wasn't painful or even cold. I melted into a puddle of water, and solidified as an ice statue. The ice around me smashed, but the ice around the imp didn't. The ice was starting to melt, so I carried the ice statue of the imp the other side of the factory.

As I let go, the ice melted completely, and the wet, angry imp tried to snap my arm off. The Easter Bunny ran forward, and threw a heavy, pure chocolate egg at it. The imp was crushed in the force, and the others ran forward to distract the angry possessed imp, way too intent to do its job.

I ran through the small pathway that used to be taken up by the imp. I went inside a rather small room, and I was greeted with a disturbing sight.

The familiar figure of Greyzag the evil imp sorcerer was in the middle of the room. Possessed imps surrounded the area, but they were normal, not designed to guard. Smashed chocolate eggs were everywhere, and imps picked up chocolate eggs from the conveyor belt and threw them into a cauldron. Greyzag laughed wickedly.

"It was too easy to take over this place!" he laughed. "Having power over imps, all I needed to do was to possess the guard outside, so he'd let me in. I'd possess the imps, and they'd help me steal infinite eggs from the conveyor belt. This amount of food, when sold, would make me rich! Not only that, but when I eat them myself, it'll give me a large boost, like chocolate usually does!" I tried to stop myself from screaming, so I could sneak around here without raising the alarm. I wasn't in the mood to fight a power-mad dark wizard and a hundred possessed imps. I then had a good idea.

I snuck to the conveyor belt, and pulled some runes out of my pocket. Aubury had taught me a lot about magic, and I learned that spells work on food and would activate when someone ate that particular piece of food. I cast several fire strikes, a confuse spell, and a bind spell, on an Easter egg. Greyzag was eating eggs fresh from the belt with ease, and I put my tampered egg back on the belt. He wouldn't bother using the sensor to look for spells. When he bit into my egg, I laughed at what happened next.

He choked as fire filled his mouth. Screaming with pain, he began spinning around, and tripped over as he was trapped in green glowing ropes. All of the imp's glowing red eyes went back to their cheeky black. When they saw their possessor on the floor, dizzy, trapped in ropes, with a burnt mouth, they all jumped on him and began scratching him and stabbing him with their little swords.

The gang ran in, led by an unpossessed guardian imp and the Easter Bunny. I explained what happened to them, and Aubury commented on my clever plan.

An hour later, we were in Draynor village, after the Easter bunny teleported us there. The guards there frogmarched the furious Greyzag off to the Draynor jail. He was cursing and struggling with all his might, but it was no use. I was roaring with laughter at his futile attempts to escape. The Easter Bunny hopped up to me.

"I am especially grateful to you, Mainiac97," he cried joyfully. "You saved my factory from despair, and stopped an evil magician at the same time. Here are your rewards." He handed me a large, clay carrot. It was very bulky, and had a large metal spike on the end. "That carrot is a very good weapon," the bunny explained. "I use it on thieves and robbers who come to steal my chocolate. Of course, it wouldn't have worked on the imp, since I already tried it. It is too big, bulky and useless for me, so I'm giving it to you." Smiling gratefully, I put it on my belt. There was no slot for it, for I put it by my chest, my belt supporting it. I went up to a nearby goblin counting coins, and hit him over the head with it. He fell to the ground, unconscious. I happily added it to my count of useful weapons. On the list now were my scythe, Silverlight, and now the giant clay carrot.

The Easter Bunny smiled at me. He gave everyone carrots (his spare ones) and reminded them to get a new one from Diango if they ever lose them. He had a lot of problems, and was giving out his spares to adventurers who help him.

"Now, I want to teach all of you two dances I learned when I was smaller-the bunny hop!" He bounced around like the rabbit he is, and I got the urge to bounce too. I bounced around stupidly like a rabbit, and so did everyone else. Osrie1 looked comical with his bounce. "The second one is called 'Around the World in Egg Days!'" The plump, fluffy rabbit seemed to literally run around the world, and reappear. I suddenly felt my legs speed. I knew for a fact I wasn't running around the world, just running on the spot looking as if I was running around the world. It felt like I had been running around the world with how much I was gasping. And I could smell chocolate in the air! I sniffed eagerly, and Slinky burst out laughing again. "That emote is used when you feel like exercise. It also counts as a dance, makes the place smell like chocolate, and can baffle enemies into thinking you've ran away. It is rather useful, I must say."

"Your third reward, obviously, is Easter Eggs!" the Easter bunny cried happily. He handed us all some colourfully wrapped eggs in baskets. I ran to the bank and put mine away, wanting to save them for later.

"Now, thank you again, children, and don't forget to jump into a rabbit hole if you want to buy some more Easter eggs, or want to talk. Diango also will give you two other items that I gave away in past Easters," the bunny said, before leaping away into the ground.

I ran to Diango, who chuckled at how eager I was. "What do you want? Also, you didn't talk to me on April Fools Day, so you missed out on the bouncing cabbages over there, but you can still buy some more here. And, obviously, since it is Easter, you get two more Easter event items!" he showed me the options. Should I choose the fake plastic eggs that would look good as ornaments? Should I choose the Bunny Ears? I decided upon buying an Egg ring and a cape called the Choclatrice cape. I took off my red cape and out on the orange cape. I put the Egg ring on my middle finger.

I pressed the egg on my ring, and, to my shock and surprise, I turned to a miniature egg. I looked around. I was an Easter egg! How could I reverse this evil magic? Help! Help! I tried to wobble, but, being an egg, I couldn't move AT ALL! I realised that if I thought myself back into human form, I would turn myself back into human form. I decided this could be useful for escaping from enemies.

The cape trapped me in a giant hollow Easter egg, according to Creator. It turns out that I could smash out from the inside, but nobody could hurt me from the outside. I tested it out. I spun around, and suddenly I was stuck in an actual giant egg. I heard Creator trying to break through from the outside, and failing miserably. I pushed the two sides of the egg, and it collapsed around me. I jumped for joy. I put my red cape in the bank.

Aubury handed us all clay tabs with the Varrock coat of arms on it. He told us to snap it. I did so, and I was forced through suffocating darkness. When I popped back out, I was in good old Varrock. I heard loud music coming from the Blue Moon Inn. I looked up at the sunset, and thought about how much I enjoyed this event, almost as much as I enjoyed the other events. I stepped towards the Blue Moon Inn, hoping I could get to dance with Slinky and Amy11.


	36. Chapter 36: The Easter Party

_**Chapter 36: The Easter Party **_

_A guard of the White Knight castle sighed. He was on his dayshift, and he was guarding the bridge. The miserable sky was the texture of chilled steel, and the clouds hung pointlessly in the sky. They threatened to split open and drench the earth below with their tears. _

_Of course, the guard was supposed to stay on the bridge-no running for cover if it began to rain for him. The guard scratched his chin, and kicked a large piece of gravel into the river, bored. The bustling town of Falador ahead seemed to disappear into nearby buildings (except for the guards) when the sky started showing signs of rain._

_The guard was considering nipping into the bar for a glass of Chef's Delight instead of pointlessly guarding this bridge, when he heard a sound from the river._

_The guard went on full alert. He heard the swish of a cape, the sound of muffled footsteps, and saw a flash of black. He heard sinister whispering, and a figure clad in silky black clothing appeared in front of him._

"_Well, well, well, look who we have here, Madrey1," the man said in a calm, sinister, silky voice to a man in dragon armour behind him. With a swift uppercut, the guard was knocked out, and fell backwards into the river._

I woke up with a jolt of panic. I was sleeping by a tree, and we were finishing work on the general store.

It was rather late, and the clouds had cleared up. About an hour ago, I'd helped the Easter Bunny and had been rewarded dearly. I got my large lumpy clay carrot hammer, and smashed the ground with it, resulting with a giant crack in the soil. It sure was powerful, I thought. In another hour the Easter party would start.

I mulled over my dream/nightmare/vision/warning, thinking sadly about the poor guard. He'd probably drowned in the river while Phantom and Madrey1 ran ahead into the castle. Those evil bastards were going to pay the next time I saw them! I'd probably have to bring Haru or/and Mark with me to take them down.

I decided to prepare for the party. I couldn't show up in my filthy, tatty normal clothes, couldn't I? I ran up to my room, passing osrie1 on the stairs. When I got there, the realisation that I didn't have any suitable clothes crashed around me.

I ran out of the shop, and ran towards Thessila's shop. When I got there, I grabbed a fistful of coins from my bag, and ran inside.

I went to the suit isle of the rather small shop, and flicked through the shiny, sleek black suits. I settled on a bottle-blue, slightly expensive suit, and my choclatrice cape. I decided to bring my weapon belt, just in case. Grumbling, I paid for the suit, and ran to my room again.

I jumped out of my tatty, pathetic day-clothes, and into my brand-new posh suit. I put my weapon belt on, and got my old leather money-pouch that I bought back in the general store in Lumbridge. I filled it with coins from my bag, and attached it to my weapon belt. For our obvious VIP guest, I put on my 'Vote David for King' badge on. I looked at myself in the mirror, and decided that I looked OK for a party.

While walking down to outside, I thought at what Aubury had announced earlier this morning.

"_Tonight, to celebrate the victory of Varrock, there is going to be a formal dance in the newly-repaired Blue Moon Inn. Free drinks and food will be served, but you will need a partner to enter the dance hall," Aubury announced. "Now, for the rest of the day, we will be helping repair the general store. Oh, and might I add, there is going to be a VIP in the dance hall too."_

The dance was to celebrate our victory, but it was also to celebrate Easter. I suppose he forgot to mention that. It was obvious who the VIP was, or I wouldn't be wearing my badge. I and Amy11 had decided we were going to be the partners so we could enter.

I decided to go to the Blue Moon Inn a bit earlier then planned. When I entered, I heard music coming from several people playing instruments on a stage that had been placed there. The new bartender was dressed in a waiter's tuxedo. The chairs and tables had been set aside, making space to dance. There were several tables and chairs on the edge of the dance floor. On the bar there were several bowls full of different snacks. There was one full of crème eggs, another full of salad, and another full of meat chunks. There were bowls of fruit, plates of steak, and trays of pizza slices. I took a slice of meat pizza, and bit into it. The juicy meat chunks were demolished instantly, and the tomato filled my mouth. I swallowed, and looked at the other end of the bar.

There was a drink menu on the table, along with several boxed Easter eggs with price tags on them. They were 35gp each, which was a very reasonable price for their delicious quality. By the bar, helping herself to salad was Amy11. My jaw fell open at her.

She was wearing a stunning long, pink dress, and she was wearing several glittering rings. She hadn't forgotten her cute little bow in her carefully combed hair either.

I tried to keep my eyes away from her, and picked up a crème egg to distract myself. I bit into it, and delicious, luscious cream filled my mouth. I sunk my teeth deeper into the smooth, tasty chocolate, and swallowed. I wandered towards the stage with several people playing instruments on it.

There was a man there playing several drums. Osrie1 was watching with apparent interest as the drum-man was playing in a world of his own.

There was another man there playing a lute. It was a very loud one, and the strings seemed on the verge of breaking. There were several people playing different instruments, such as violin, piano, and flute. The music blended together to sound really good-danceable, as a matter of fact. There was a singer there, singing out in a very loud but beautiful voice. It appeared that the band was just warming up for later. The lot of them were wearing magnificent, fine silk clothes emblazoned with the letter R and another R, which were entwined. I found out, after asking the bartender, that they stood for 'RuneScape Rockers'.

I went towards a shiny, varnished oak table with two chairs, a menu, and a lit candle, and gestured for Amy11 to sit with me.

Amy11 sat down opposite me. A strand of blonde hair fell in front of her face. She swept it aside.

I went to the bar, and bought a fruit blast and a Chef's Delight. I went back to our table, and gave her the fruit blast. She thanked me, and sipped it. I sat on the other chair, and downed my drink in one gulp. The fizzy delight (no wonder why they call it a Chef's Delight) filled my mouth, and several different tastes exploded like dynamite. I gulped it down quickly, while Amy11 sipped on her drink and nibbled on her salad infuriatingly slow.

"Why do you eat that rabbit food?" I asked her. "It's not good for you. It is making you look stick-thin. You should try and eat a bit more of a variety," I finished. Looking appalled, with a lump of cabbage still in her hand, she bent towards me.

"Do you think I look too thin?" she whispered. "I haven't been eating properly since my mum died from the possessed strange plant." I patted her hand sympathetically. I went to the bar, got two plates, filled both of them with a bit of everything in the bowls and went back to the table.

"Here," I said, pushing the second plate towards her. "Try and eat that. I'm not forcing you-I just think you should eat a bit more of a square meal." She sniffed the pizza, and took a bit. She bit into it, and the look on her face showed that she was relishing it.

The Blue Moon Inn began to fill up a bit more now. The new waiter (keeping in mind the old one was killed in the War of Varrock) had to refill the plates. I offered my hand to Amy11.

"Care to dance?" I asked, in the politest voice I could muster. She shook her head, telling me that she would wait until the V.I.P came.

After at least half an hour of waiting, and nibbling on meat, the door swung open. Several people in suits, wearing black, stele masks, holding rune swords, came in, along with two people in gold robes holding horns. They blew the horns, and a clear, majestic sound came from them. A man in his usual black suit came through, followed by other bodyguards with rune swords. This man was obviously the V.I.P. A crowd seemed to cheer, and I recognised the V.I.P as King David.

He smiled cheerfully, and waved at the crowd. The band stopped playing. King David went on the stage, ushering the band to a side. The rune-sword wielding bodyguards stayed at his side. I didn't know what it was about them, but they seemed awfully familiar.

King David was wearing a dark-green shiny suit that made him look resplendent, compared to the cheering people in the audience.

"Hello, my friends!" King David shouted, and the crowd went silent instantly.

"I started this dance to celebrate the victory of Varrock's war, and of course, Easter! It has been approximately just over a month of hell for us, with Delrith smashing Varrock apart, as well as their ruler, Master Samuel. Unfortunately, he kept himself to himself, so only particular people knew who or what he was. Now, that is enough of my speech. Let us celebrate our victory, and savour it like a generous helping of chocolate cake!"

The crowd cheered, and as King David left the stage, the band restarted their music. It was a very slow waltz. I offered Amy11 my hand, and she took it.

We went on the wooden dance floor. "Take my hand, and put your other one on my waist," she hissed. I looked at her, nonplussed.

"What's a waist?" I asked, blushing. She grabbed my other hand, and steered it to her waist. I took her hand, and we danced.

I tried to copy Slinky dancing with Creator nearby. I tripped over Amy11's feet, and nearly fell over. I decided I wasn't that fond of dancing.

I spun around the stage, and, copying Creator, tried to pick Amy11 up for a second, as was part of the dance. Despite that she was very thin and small, she was surprisingly heavy, and I found myself teetering back and forth. I put her down, and tried to act like it was part of the dance.

After another ten minutes of very awkward dancing, the music finished, and I went towards my table. Slinky ran towards me, and pulled me back towards the dance floor. A new, quicker song had begun.

Slinky started taking me in a little jig. I tried to copy her moves, but they were very complicated. After tripping over at least four times, I discovered I was a very rubbish dancer.

When the song was finished, I went towards a table with Amy11 sitting there, howling with laughter. Her face was taut with glee, and I found myself chuckling too.

I felt very hot, sitting there, in my stiff suit, sweating like ten men after a marathon, with Amy11 sitting opposite. I was feeling very uncomfortable, and I wished I was back in my normal day clothes. My weapon belt dug uncomfortably into my skin. I knew that there was going to be a very big, belt-shaped welt when I took it off.

Amy11 seemed very bouncy and cheerful. She had a quick dance with Haru and Mark, then went back to sit with me. To avoid awkward silence, I went up to get some more drinks and another plate of food.

When I offered her another fruit blast, she accepted happily, and gave me a peck on the cheek. I blushed, looking like a radish with sunburn. Osrie1 wolf-whistled, looking slightly punch-drunk. He stumbled towards us, tripping over. One of the suspicious men with a rune sword marched towards him, and dragged him out of the pub, while he burbled on about having a few many beers, and wanting to come back in.

I sat there happily, sipping on Chef's Delight, munching on a crème egg, watching people dance. As I was about to sit up for another egg, the door burst open.

In came Madrey1 and Phantom. They had evil, identical grins on their faces. Madrey1's armour clanked as he walked in. Phantom's gloved hands looked slightly bloodstained.

King David stepped from the stage, and walked up to the pair. "Excuse me," he said loudly. "Aren't you the infamous Noob Exterminators? I specifically told you to stop your little circus group. Why don't you do so now, today? Leave at once, or I'll put you under arrest." Madrey1 gave a fake gasp, and Phantom snickered silently.

"We don't want to leave, isn't it, Phantom?" Madrey1 laughed. "We want to stay, and have a drink and a dance, and have a bit of fun." Phantom stepped up to Amy11, and knocked her backwards with a swift, sharp uppercut.

Slinky, looking livid pulled a machete from her sparkly dress. I remembered with a jolt of realisation. She was trained to use one! It's a shame she didn't have it with her in the War of Varrock, she could have helped out a bit.

Madrey1 grabbed the machete, and effortlessly tied it into a knot, as if it was made out of rubber. He threw it at a level 6 man in a black suit, and the man was knocked out cold.

Mark and Haru ran towards the Noob Exterminators. Haru was just about to attack, when he remembered that he didn't bring his axe. Shrugging, he punched Madrey1 in the face. It didn't do the slightest amount of damage. Madrey1 grabbed Haru's legs, and spun him around. He let go, and Haru was sent flying through the air, smashing into a table.

Mark tried to hit Phantom, who dodged. Mark pulled a throwing-axe out of his pocket, and threw it at Phantom. Before it hit him, Phantom used his dark magic to dissolve it. With a silky, rapid uppercut, Mark, with an unpleasant cracking sound, was knocked out.

While several of David's bodyguards tried to drag the Noob Exterminators away, I snuck behind Phantom. He was too busy trying to knock out very tough bodyguards he didn't notice me. Neither did Madrey1. I silently grabbed Phantom's arm, and used the freeze emote.

A very surprised Phantom was frozen. Several bodyguards, who had been taking him on, had an easy time throwing him out of the bar and into a gutter. As I melted into a puddle of water, madrey1, alarmed, ran towards him. On his way out, he slipped on me while I was still water. As I re-solidified, I found him sprawled at my feet. I quickly took my Easter carrot, and smashed it on his face. He stood up, and ran towards me, bellowing like an angry bull. I quickly grabbed my cape, and thought of Easter eggs. I was stuck inside a giant egg.

I could feel Madrey1 hammering angrily on the egg. Of course, it was almost indestructible from the outside (I said _almost_) but I could break it open from the inside as if it was made of paper. I grabbed my giant clay carrot and smashed the egg open.

Madrey1 jumped back, alarmed. While he was still shocked, I hit him in the face with the hammer. Blood poured from his nose like a scarlet waterfall, and he tripped over the unconscious body of Phantom, his helmet flew off, and he was knocked cold.

I grabbed his shiny, new helmet, and my olive-green book flew out of my bag and into my hands, informing me that I couldn't wear it. I had to drop it, since the book seemed to be giving me an electric shock. I kicked the helmet down an open drain nearby.

The party ended shortly after that incident. Phantom regained consciousness, knocked out some guards trying to carry Madrey1 to the Varrock castle dungeon, grabbed his clanking body, and the pair of them disappeared in a puff of smoke. I filled my pockets with crème eggs, and Amy11 gave me a very passionate kiss for saving her. I stumbled back to the rune shop, knowing I was going to have a good night's sleep.


	37. Chapter 37: Enter Clayguy7

_**Chapter 37: Enter Clayguy7**_

The goblin roared at me, baring his disgusting, yellowing teeth. His red eyes glowed like embers as he waved a rusty, squalid dagger at me. Grimacing, I smashed Silverlight on his head. The glinting sword was spattered with scarlet blood as it came in contact with the skull of the goblin. With a final grunt, the goblin fell to the ground, and transformed into bones, a pile of coins, and a bronze shield.

I scooped the bones up, and buried them in the soft soil below me. Fireworks burst from the atmosphere around me, and my book had informed me I had risen to prayer level 12. It had risen so quickly from burying the bones of dark wizards, skeletons, and rats in the month before the War of Varrock.

My combat level at the current moment was 18. It had risen quickly after fighting so much, but now, hopefully, the violence would end soon. I was going to leave Varrock tomorrow, to continue with my journey.

My next stop was the great shining city of Falador. I would have to go through Barbarian Village, and then go through the pass next to the Dwarf mines, and I would soon arrive at Falador. Mark had been kind enough to point me in the right direction. He was going to join us until we arrived at Falador. According o him, he had an old friend he wanted to meet there.

About a week ago, I had given the Rune crafting package to Aubury, the one that Sedridor had given me. That quest was given to me over two months ago. Through all the worry about the war and everything, I had forgotten completely about it! Aubury had given me some of his research notes to return to Sedridor. I decided when I am at Falador; I would explore to Port Sarim and Rimmington, and return to Draynor and Lumbridge. Then I would give the notes back. Aubury told me if I succeeded I would be rewarded beyond my wildest dreams.

Grimacing, wiping blood off Silverlight, I stood up. That goblin had been reported to the Glory Troopers by the clerks of the Grand Exchange. I was behind it at the very moment.

In front of me, there was the wilderness ditch, and beyond that, there was the menacing wilderness. The soil looked rotten and putrid, while blood-soaked skeletons littered the floor like rubbish in an alleyway. A possessed rat stared at me with its ruby-red eyes in the distance, and beyond that was hidden from view by black murky shadows. I gulped, and walked towards the Grand Exchange.

That was a more cheerful sight. People crowded around several tills with clerks behind them, shouting, chatting, and, in general, talking. Items and bags of coins were traded, and huge stone pillars towered around me. A giant stone hand holding a handful of coins was the trademark statue of The Grand Exchange.

The Grand Exchange was a very successful business, which made a LOT of money by buying items and trading them. In a corner in the far right, a bunch of goblins were bickering over a huge sack of gold. Thankfully, they were not possessed.

I went towards the counter, and the clerk, looking extremely bored, put on a very fake, cheesy smile.

"Hello, and welcome to the Grand Exchange. Can I help you?" she asked politely as she shuffled through a pile of paperwork. I gave her a small, shy grin.

"Hello there. Can you check if my bronze plate body has sold yet?" I asked. She nodded, sighed, and gave me a stone plate. I typed my PIN on it, and a large box with six compartments opened in front of me.

One of the compartments had a picture of my bronze plate body, SOLD stamped in large red letters under it. There was a bag half-full of coins next to it. I picked up the bag, and the picture disappeared, leaving the box empty. I closed it, and put my money away in my bag.

My Smithing level had risen so high, I could now make bronze plate bodies. I mined copper and tin from the mine in Varrock, and made it into tools. I sold some to younger players, I sold some in the Grand Exchange, I donated some to the Glory Troopers and I stored some in my bank for future use.

Sighing gloomily, I went to the mines. I was going to be leaving on my adventure, along with the rest of the gang, the next day, so I was going to spend the rest of this day mining, smithing, stockpiling, and selling bronze supplies.

The famous Varrock mine was small, cramped, and filthy, but absolutely packed with important ores, such as iron, copper, tin, coal, and more. It was a huge blot in the beautiful countryside. As I walked in it, I was greeted with tumultuous applause from the miners. I waved my hand in the air, and I took out my iron pickaxe.

I stepped up to a coal rock, deciding to see if I was finally ready to try and mine it. I whacked the rock with my axe, sending small chunks of rocks everywhere. No coal came out, and I felt a vibration in my bag. I took my vibrating, olive-green book out, and it opened to a particular page. On it, it said 'You need to be level 30 mining to mine these rocks!' Undaunted, I smashed my pickaxe into the rock again. My book vibrated angrily again. Sighing, I decided to mine copper and tin.

I smashed my way into a tin rock, ore tumbling out like an avalanche. After much mining of copper and tin, I gathered my spoils, put them in my bag, and walked off.

I walked right into a very tall, very strong man. He was level 42, and his face looked like it had been carved from rock. His bushy brown beard hung limply from his chin, and his eyes were a muddy brown. He wore a brown leather apron, and bottle-blue trousers. He glared at me, nostrils flaring.

"DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?" he bellowed, making people stare. I stuttered an apology, but he started shouting at me again. "I AM CLAYGUY7, AND I SUPPLY CLAY ITEMS FOR THE WHOLE OF VARROCK!" I was backing off, but his expression softened. "Who are you anyway, kid?" I mumbled my name to him, and he chortled at my fear. "No need to worry, son. My anger runs away with me sometimes. Hey, you seem to have strong arms and sturdy feet. How about you give me a hand with my clay-making? I'll make it worth your while." I nodded, terrified at this massive giant of a man.

"Very well, let's start off with the basics-the raw clay." He kicked a nearby rock with solid clay with it, and the stuff went tumbling out, solid as granite. He scooped it out, took a large bucket out from his bag, and filled it with the clay. He stopped for a moment, watching me carefully. I shuddered as his ice-cold gaze scanned me.

"Kid, Mainiac97, you can't come dressed like that," he said, smirking at my best, shiny-white shirt. "Go and change into something you can bear to get dirty, and meet me by the fountain in twenty minutes. Handling and making clay items is very dirty work," he added. Blushing redder then a radish with sunburn, I nodded, and ran off to Aubury's shop.

When I arrived, I went through the stained-glass doors, the shop sign creaking loudly above me. I bumped into Amy11 in the corridor towards the stairs. The corridor to the rooms, being very small, gave very little room for movement, so I found myself jammed in the corridor, with Amy11 glued to my chest. She seemed to be enjoying my discomfort.

"Isn't this place a bit too cosy to be cuddling and kissing?" an impatient voice came from the stairs. I looked up to see Creator looking at us, amused at the scene. I, spluttering, tried to explain my situation to Creator, who was roaring with laughter.

"Look, I know you two lovebirds want private time together, but you're clogging up the corridor," he sniggered. Furiously, I wrenched myself from Amy11, and stepped towards Creator, rolling my sleeve. Still doubled up with laughter, Creator grabbed my leg, and threw me the opposite side of him. Blushing beetroot red, I pounced to my room, three steps at a time.

I threw on my old filthy work clothes, and pounced down the stairs. On the way down, I bumped into Aubury.

"Whoa! Take your time, child!" he exclaimed, waving his arms around to balance himself. As he struggled to keep himself on the stairs, a newspaper cutting fell on the floor. Curiously, I picked it up, and began to read.

_**GLORY TROOPERS WIN WILDERNESS WAR!**_

_The army of peace, the Glory Troopers, today won a war against the dark forces._

_Army commander Slinky overheard dark wizards discussing a plan urgently within their stone circle. They said they were going to gather the Black Guard in the wilderness to attempt to ambush Varrock._

_Slinky rushed back to base and raised alert. Glory Troopers were gathered, and marched hopefully into the Wilderness, to attempt to counter the plan._

_There, they found a large amount of the Black Guard, preparing a mass slaughter in the Wilderness, approximately level 12 deep. A huge war developed, and most of both sides were killed. _

I continued reading, getting angrier by the second.

"We lost many soldiers!" I bellowed in Aubury's face. He lost it this time, and fell down the stairs with several crashes. "Why didn't you let me become part of the war?" I shouted. Aubury sat up, and rubbed a lump on his head.

He led me to the kitchen, me still fuming. He tried to explain.

"You see, all of my soldiers are more experienced then you. As soon as darkness began to spread, our true leader trained them viciously. They learned not how to injure opponents, not how to kill them, but how to completely destroy them, and rip them apart. The training was vicious, but it paid off. They learned how to survive for months in the wilderness… they learned all the secret tricks of dark forces.

"The point I'm trying to make is you haven't. You are only a temporary spy, and you'll be leaving tonight for Falador anyway. I couldn't risk someone as innocent as you get killed."

I sighed sadly. Fair enough, I suppose I didn't stand a chance against an army of Black Guard, but I just felt so _useless_.

"On a more cheerful note," Aubury continued. "I managed to find a new warrior. I'm glad we've found someone so good."


	38. Chapter 38: The Art of Clay

_**Chapter 38: The Art of Clay**_

Through the door, came one of the strongest people I have ever encountered in all of my time on RuneScape.

He wore a long, billowing spotted cape, which looked like it had been made from the fur of the strongest animals. He wore two huge boots of lightness, and his resplendent, shiny white suit clearly showed all of his bulging muscles. He wore a huge amulet with a glowing gem inside. He was holding a small, sharp dagger, dipped in poison, and I could see my face in his perfect white teeth.

"Hello," he grinned. "I am Haldir6. I am the new Glory Trooper. I've heard of the great misfortune. Well, anyway, I am glad to meet you, Mainiac9-". He stopped in mid-sentence, as if shocked by the name. He shook my hand firmly, and patted me on the back. I smiled back at him politely.

I looked at the clock and gasped. It was almost ten minutes past the time I was supposed to be meeting Clayguy7! I apologised to Aubury and Haldir6, and rushed off to Varrock square.

As I left Aubury's shop, I remembered about my travel partners-Osrie1, Capablanca, Amy11, Mark, and Slinky! I wonder where they were right now….probably saying goodbyes, getting ready, stockpiling for the journey we were going to set off for tomorrow.

I arrived, panting, at the Varrock fountain. As usual, the tall, burnished stone fountain stood proudly, spurting crystal-clear water, standing as a monument to Varrock. By it, Clayguy7 stood there, tapping his foot impatiently, with a bucket of raw clay and another two empty buckets by his feet.

"Finally!" he shouted his face taut with rage. "You're late, kid! Shape up, or your head goes in the fountain!" I stuttered an apology, shaking in my shoes. "Well, at least you're wearing working clothes," Clayguy7 said.

"Well, to start off, fill one bucket with water," he barked. I did so, flinching every now and then. "Now, put a bit of clay in the water." I picked up a lump of solid clay, and dunked it in the water. I picked up the clay. It felt strangely soft in my hand. I put it in the other bucket.

I repeated the process under Clayguy7's watchful eye. When the bucket was filled with soft clay, Clayguy7 gestured for me to follow him.

We went through West Varrock, holding buckets of clay. We continued, until we reached a wooden bridge.

It was very small, rotting and rickety. A ferocious river ran underneath. The bridge looked on the verge of collapsing, and didn't feel like it could support out weight.

"Well, this bridge is the robust entrance to Barbarian Village," Clayguy7 said flamboyantly. He skipped across, the bridge creaking noisily. I gulped nervously, and tiptoed across.

After I finally reached the other end, I was in Barbarian Village. Around me, filthy wooden huts stood, held together by mud. People wearing special Barbarian, shiny-brown armour, furs, with huge axes, marched around, doing their every-day chores. A mine filled with solid rocks stood there, with a trapdoor among them. Clayguy7 gestured for me to follow him. Nonplussed, I followed him into a nearby hut. He closed the door behind us.

Inside, it was hot and cramped. A huge clay oven stood in the corner, while pottery devices were nearby. Shelves of clay art were near. There was a Barbarian nearby, using the clay oven to harden a clay pot, who nodded at us. I smiled politely back at him.

"Now, kid, do what I do," Clayguy7 said. He grabbed a lump of clay from the bucket, and put it in the pottery device. It began to turn. The powerful mechanism began to make a clay shape, with help from Clayguy7's hands.

"You see, kid, this machine can't operate by itself. I need to use my hands to carve what I want, as well as making use of that mould up there. The machine just turns and helps make the shape in the pot/bowl/model. The clay would collapse if I wasn't a high enough level," he said. He showed me his cape. It was a crafting skill cape! I gasped with amazement and appreciation. He winked at me, and grinned. "I'm glad you like it," he said, smiling.

When he finished carving, a decorated clay pot was the finishing result. He stepped back, put a lump of damp clay in my hands, and gestured for me to try and carve.

"What's your Crafting level?" he asked me. I checked my book, which told me I was only level 3. I showed him, and he guffawed.

"If you want to learn how to carve from clay, you need practice!" he said. I gulped, went forward, and put the wet clay on the mechanism.

It began to spin around slowly. I took a pot mould from the shelves, and put it on top of the spinning clay. I fashioned it into the shape I desired. I swirled different patterns into it, getting wet, sticky, muddy clay all over my hands. Just as I was about to take it out the mould, I heard shouts and screams outside. The clay collapsed in my hand, and, ignoring it, I ran outside to see what was going on.

A huge, jewel-encrusted horse-ridden cart was passing through Barbarian Village. Several sturdy, strong guards marched along with it. Inside the cart was King David. He was grinning, his shiny white teeth showing, waving at the crowd of cheering Barbarians and miners.

"Greetings, people! I am on my way to the great city of Lumbridge to donate some of my soldiers to help fight against the growing goblin problem. I will then journey through Seer's Village to Ardougne, where my official votes will be taken in. If successful, I will earn more power and I will be that much closer to make my dream come true!" David announced. There was an explosion of tumultuous applause from the crowd that had gathered. King David nodded at the person driving the carriage, and it continued on its journey.

As the carriage rumbled away noisily, sending gravel and dirt everywhere, a man in a long, billowing black robe watched silently from the distance. I paid him no attention, though.

I returned to the clay house, and swore loudly as I saw my collapsed remains. Clayguy7 guffawed heartily as he saw me grunt with impatience, and try to remodel my clay pot.

After at least ten long, gruelling minutes of remodelling, I had a normal, flour-carrying pot. The only problem was, it was damp, sticky, and on the verge of collapsing. I picked it up gingerly and carried it slowly to the clay oven. I placed it inside carefully, and turned a knob on the panel below to stitch on the flame. I watched the pot slowly harden, and the finishing result was a perfect clay pot!

I picked it up, turned the oven off, and showed it excitedly to Clayguy7. He examined it, and nodded curtly.

"That seems OK to me," he said. "Continue working, and you will be rewarded well."

I spent the rest of the day working as hard as possible. I went to the mines, mined bucketfuls of clay, wet them, and made them into pots. I also told the travelling gang that we would be leaving a bit later, and that they should meet me this evening in Barbarian Village.

Sooner or later, I learnt how to decorate them, and I raised to a high enough level to make bowls too. When evening began to come, Clayguy7 called me off my work. He was grinning widely.

"Kid," he said. "You've been working hard. You will be rewarded. My first reward to you is all the experience you received. Secondly, I haven't been sitting on my behind doing nothing all day. I've been doing a spot of cooking." He pulled a meat sandwich from his bag. "Lunch is on me, kid." I thanked him rapidly, and began chewing vigorously on my delicious sandwich.

"Your third reward," he continued, "is this." He pulled a pot from a nearby shelf. "While you were at the mines, I made that sandwich, but I also made this just for you."

The pot was brilliant. Masterfully crafted, dedication, experience and hard work oozed from every corner of it. It had a pattern of pickaxes, swords and helmets, all entwined, on it. The solid clay felt strong in my hands. As I gawped, amazed, at this piece of art, Clayguy7 grinned.

"All yours," he smiled. "I'm guessing you like it, so I'll give you my final reward-my respect and my debt. You've done a full day of work for me-I am in your debt now. If you ever need something clay, a helping hand, whatever, just see me here. This, as well as my workplace, is my home." He shook my hand, and waved at me as I went out the door.

I saw the travelling pack-Osrie1, Amy11, Capablanca, Slinky, Mark, and even Haldir6 had come to greet me. Smiling, I walked forward, but I bumped into a very tall, very muscular Barbarian on the way out. He stared at me, scowling.


	39. Chapter 39: Gunther the Brave

_**Chapter 39: Gunther the Brave**_

_I saw the travelling pack-Osrie1, Amy11, Capablanca, Slinky, Mark, and even Haldir6 had come to greet me. Smiling, I walked forward, but I bumped into a very tall, very muscular Barbarian on the way out. He stared at me, scowling._

"City-man!" he bellowed in my face, spraying spit everywhere. He wore a heavy brown Barbarian helmet, furs, and he held a small but heavy-looking stone hammer. His face was taut with rage. "You are very stupid, to challenge Barbarian!" Roaring, he sent his stone hammer smashing into my stomach. Winded, I keeled over, gasping for air. I had lost over half my hit points with one blow! This barbarian must be rather strong!

The gang ran towards me, looking rather concerned. Slinky took out her machete, and stuck it into the furious Barbarian's gut. He roared again, and sent the hammer flying at her, only for it to miss her by inches. Osrie1 and Capablanca took out their bottles of healing tonic, and dabbed it on my wounds. I stood up, rubbing my wound, which was still healing. My hit points recovered, I charged towards the distracted barbarian, wielding Silverlight.

I slashed it at the barbarian, sending blood everywhere. Blood poured from his wound thick and fast. He howled with pain, and keeled over. I got my iron dagger, and cleanly slit his throat. He gurgled unpleasantly, and died. The remains were a pile of coins, a pile of bones, and some bear fur. I scooped them up, buried the bones, and put the rest in my bag.

Another Barbarian came up to me, scowling unpleasantly. "You are strong to take out fellow barbarian. But you cannot beat Gunther the brave," he said, spitting at my feet.

"Who's Gunther?" I stuttered nervously. The Barbarian chortled, his large belly wobbling.

"Gunther….is the Barbarian champion," he announced. "Gunther started this village. He strong. Nobody beat him. He can drink beer faster then rest of village." I gulped nervously. This Gunther the brave sounded very bad.

The Barbarian walked into the nearby long hall, and came out, looking triumphant.

"Gunther wishes to challenge you," he said, grinning nastily down at me. I laughed nervously. "He will meet you in one hour." Nodding vigorously, I backed off, and ran away.

I stopped running at the cooking guild. The tall windmill swung ominously. Even the smell of roasting meat and cooking pie couldn't reassure me right now. I sat down by the grass, and began to cry softly. If I couldn't beat a normal, weak barbarian without great injury, what made me think I could challenge the master of barbarian Village?

Well, there was the fact that I defeated a pure evil Master Samuel, a huge demon, a three-headed dragon, an army of rats, and more….but I defeated them with help from Silverlight, help from the man on the white dragon, even help from an ordinary white knight….I couldn't even fight a normal Barbarian without needing a cupful of healing tonic!

Well, that was the last of my great heroic battles. I was probably considered a….well, maniac. Everyone with some sort of psychic power foretold of a mysterious object on my back, and oncoming darkness. I needed help from every corner to fight even a normal Barbarian. I needed to run away from this fight.

I sat up, and was just considering getting supplies from the bank to run away, when I saw Amy11 come toward me, panting.

"Well hello, is something the matter?" she said kindly. Sniffing sadly, I explained my problems and my worries to her. She nodded sympathetically.

"Well," she said, mulling it over. She then looked like she had an idea. "There was the Barbarian, but you've defeated more. You've defeated countless possessed creatures. You've managed to defeat a rock golem, almost all by yourself. And I know about that because I saw it with my very own eyes. You did very well in the war, brutally killing many dark wizards.

"According to Osrie1, you defeated James the dark sorcerer, all by yourself, on Tutorial Island, not to mention another person at the same level as you, and a large army of rats. If I remember correctly, you managed to kill a wanted highwayman, defeat the prince of ice Jack Frost, and more! You may feel useless, but why do you think people want to travel with you? Because they respect you, and love you."

She finished her small speech with a flourish. I thought about what she had said, and realised it was true. I might have had help on some occasions, but I can do this all by myself! I thanked her, and she smiled.

"I'm glad I made you feel better," she whispered. She smiled, winked at me, and skipped off. I found myself staring at her longingly. I shook my head, and planned out a battle strategy for Gunther the Brave.

I walked back into Barbarian village, wearing all the armour I had. I wore an iron chain mail, my trademark bronze helmet, my choclatrice cape, some steel leggings that I bought on the Grand Exchange, and all my jewellery (my lucky sapphire ring, my Easter ring, my amulet of ghost speak, my defence amulet, and more). On my belt, I had my scythe, Silverlight, my Easter Hammer, my emergency iron dagger, and a spare iron sword. Haldir6 was already there. He nodded at me, and gestured for me to come inside the barbarian long hall.

I went inside. Several long, wooden tables were there. Furious, drunk Barbarians sat there, drinking from huge mugs of ale, chewing on meat. There were also some curious people from Varrock, and friends, such as Aubury, Osrie1, Capablanca, Amy11, Slinky, Creator, Haru, Mark, Haldir6, and even Clayguy7! They all cheered for me as I entered, while the Barbarians booed.

At the far end of the hall there was a large stage. There were Barbarian guards by the stage. They grunted, and two stepped forwards, and dragged me on the stage.

I only just noticed that there was metal fencing surrounding the stage. There was a door, held together by rotted wood and mud. I heard tumultuous boos from the phalanx of barbarians. Just as I was getting bored on this stage, and the fist holding my stomach was beginning to relax, the door burst open, and flew off its hinges. A huge figure smashed its way through the doorway, and I saw Gunther the Brave for the first time.

He was colossal. Muscles popped from every pore of his mammoth body. He wore a huge, grey, burnished helmet, which had two horns attached to it.

He wore the classical Barbarian shiny-brown armour, covered with animal furs. He wore a sumptuous, probably home-made amulet of strength. True, his stomach was slightly podgy; but bulging muscles made up for that. A slight smile was playing around his lips. I wasn't too sure, but I thought I could see a shade of red in his tunnel-like eyes.

"So, you are the impudent pest who has been trying to kill off my village?" he asked swiftly, taking out a stone, blood-stained sword and a barbarian hammer-only bigger. I nodded, shuddering under the shadow of this giant of a human being. He sounded intelligent-unlike normal barbarians. "Very well, I am Gunther the Brave," he said, bowing. "You have challenged me, leader of Barbarian Village. I must make a slight avowal-you seem like an utter noob in the arts of fighting." I heard the Barbarian side of the crowd guffaw heartily. Gunther, looking pensive, waved his hand for silence. "So, young sir, let us test your skills in a duel."

He had rushed towards me and hit me with his stone sword faster then an eye blink. I knelt at his feet, winded by the powerful blow. I felt a handful of my hit points go down the drain. I heard a mix of whooping and groaning from the audience. Gunther went up to me. I stood up, clutching my stab wound.

"You still seem irresolute about this fight," he said loudly. "That was rather lamentable performance from your side of it. Your opinions of it so far seem inscrutable. Are you sure you want to humiliate yourself further?" he asked, grinning evilly, his eyes boring into mine. I could hear a mix of laughter and more groaning from the audience. I nodded. "Very well," Gunther said, sounding buoyant. "It's your funeral."

He was walking towards me, grinning evilly, cracking his knuckles. I began panicking. I didn't have a battle strategy! What was I going to do? People on the table supporting me were looking at me, some scared, some hopeful, some questioning. I needed to stall. I needed time. I needed a place to hide, where he couldn't get me. It then struck me. I grabbed my cape, and after some seconds of deep thinking, I was stuck in a giant Easter egg.

From inside the egg, I could hear whooping, yells of anger, and great thumping of tables. I thought desperately. I could feel Gunther hammering at my egg with either his sword of his hammer. I held my lucky sapphire ring, and wished as hard as I could. Another idea struck me for stalling time.

I smashed the egg open from the inside, and Gunther jumped back, surprised. I grabbed his arm as forcefully as I could, and used the freeze emote. He froze to a solid ice statue, while I melted into a puddle. I re-solidified, and the ice encasing me smashed to bits. I noticed that the ice trapping the frozen form of Gunther the Brave was melting, so I took out my clay carrot, and smashed it on his head. Although he couldn't move, I felt him lose 8 hit points. The ice where I hit was starting to crack, and collapse. As Gunther the Brave forced himself from the ice, I backed off. I had another idea to stall for time.

I used the around the world in egg days emote. I had the sensation of running around the world, while I confused Gunther and the audience. Gunther was looking in a different direction for me, thinking I had amazingly run off. I smashed the clay carrot hammer in his face while he wasn't looking.

He bellowed like an enraged bull, and teeth and blood were sent everywhere. I felt him lose quite a lot of hit points, and I saw that I had broken his nose. Blood poured from his nose like a large scarlet waterfall. Spitting blood and teeth from his mouth, he sent the sword swinging at me. It hit me full-pelt in the head. I felt a lump raise on my head, and stars popped out in front of my eyes. I stumbled around, and, in an attempt to give me time to recover, I used the trick emote. Undaunted by the bats that flew from my body, Gunther went forwards, and grabbed me by the neck.

"Say your prayers, kid," he hissed in my ear. That reminded me of other things I could do! I thought of the incantation for the 'confuse' spell, and, hoping I had the correct runes, blasted it in Gunther's face.

He dropped me, and began to stumble around. I sent the bind spell at him, but it didn't do anything. I tried again at least three times, and at last he got tangled in almost-unbreakable cords. I cursed myself for not knowing the bind of pain, a spell that has the same effect, except large, deadly spikes grow from the bind.

While Gunther was struggling with the bind, I sent several fire strikes at him. He bellowed, swore loudly, and the bind snapped in his attempt to escape the searing-hot flames. It was a funny tableau; an enormous monster of a man like Gunther running around, trying to extinguish flames on his backside.

When they were out, he snarled at me with his crippled face, and took out his sword. He held it to my neck, and was about to chop my head straight off, when, with quick thinking, I shot an arrow at him. Of all places, the arrow stuck his neck. He dropped his heavy weapons, and an unpleasant gurgling noise was coming from his throat. Blood began pouring from the wound on his neck, and he fell back, dead as the wooden door behind him. His corpse transformed into bones, a small leather sack of coins, his stone hammer and sword, and some beer, and I saw no more of him.

There was a silence. It was a silence so deep that you could hear a clock tick from the other side of the village. Then I heard many shouts, some of anger, some of glee, and some of happiness. I just managed to scoop up my prizes before I was dragged off the stage, and out into the village mine. Barbarians were simply staring as me as I passed in amazement.

"Well played, my friend, well played!" Osrie1 boomed as he patted my back a bit too hard. I had the suspicion he was drunk.

"That was excellent! Did you see the faces of the Barbarians in there? They're shocked!" Mark said gleefully.

"That's my Mainiac97," Capablanca said, almost wordless.

I was congratulated by so many people I couldn't remember them all. But the crowd parted when Amy11 went in. She stared at me, and then ran towards me, giving me the biggest hug I've ever received. "What did I tell you?" she whsipered in my ear. I thanked her, and walked off. A hand came from behind a hut, and dragged me. It was Ilookgood99.

"That was very good, Mainiac97," he said, sounding slightly urgent. "It was even more impressive that you beat him while he was possessed." My mouth fell open in shock.

"He was possessed?" I shouted, rather incredulously. Ilookgood99 nodded.

"Barbarians are famous for stupidity," he said. "Especially their leaders. Did you notice the way he was talking? There is no way on Saradomin's earth that that could happen. He was possessed, I tell you." I grabbed my head, unable to take all of this in.

Ilookgood99 turned to me. "I foresee a dazzling end… the cure to the darkness. You must see the dazzling end, you must grasp it… the opportunity will arise at the best possible time… you have something on your back!"

I heard it, yet again. Hissing, mechanical clicking, and what sounded like voices came form the object on my back. But it felt different-like a compass which had been de-magnetised was going closer to the right way. I could actually feel weight on my back, as well as sense it strongly. After a second, it disappeared. I turned around. Ilookgood99 was gone.

I suddenly collapsed. I could feel myself fading… fading…

_A very familiar cloaked man was walking through the wilderness. He was holding a thick, dusty tome-the book which held the sacred ingredients to the potion. He kicked a skull into a dark hole as he passed it._

_After a small walk past many possessed creatures and blood-stained skeletons, he arrived._

_He was in a stone circle, but there was a massive difference. This stone circle didn't have crumbling pillars or a massive, glowing altar. There was a large, rusty, black cauldron on the centre, and none other then James, master thief, dark magician, and Zamorak supporter, was adding ingredients to the contents. _

"_James!" the cloaked man barked. "I have the book you requested." He handed James the heavy book. James flicked through it._

"_We have made progress with this potion, I know, but there is still much work to be done," James sneered. "What else do we need? We need the mist of yet to come…." He thought for a moment. He then clicked. "Isn't that what Gypsy Aris has in her crystal ball? That's probably what she's so good at telling the future! That is why Master Samuel wanted her while he was all-knowing, and all-powerful! That's why she ran away!" The cloaked man nodded in agreement. _

"_Right," he barked to a nearby dark wizard. "Spread the word that we need Gypsy Aris! Go tell our… associate, he can be of great help. Master Samuel may need to convince him a bit, but eventually he'll help us get Gypsy Aris." The dark wizard nodded, and ran off, cloak swishing softly._

"_Gypsies, when they want to be hidden, stay hidden. We need to gather more ingredients. I want you," James said, pointing at the cloaked man. "I want you to gather men to find some poison of the rattle-snake of Karamja." The cloaked man's eyes widened. _

"_That's going to be hard to get, but, very well, if that is what you and Master Samuel wish," he muttered, looking uncertain. He clicked his fingers for dark wizards to follow him, and he went off, scowling._

I woke up with a jolt. I had another dream! This one seemed to contain crucial information. Some man in a cloak was involved, to start off with. Poor Gypsy Aris! I hope she could hide from a legion of Zamorak supporters.

Still thinking deeply about what had happened today, what Ilookgood99 had said, and what was in the dream, I walked back to the long hall, to join in the celebrations.


	40. Chapter 40: Breaching Security

_**Chapter 40: Breaching Security**_

_Several muttering Dark Wizards gathered behind the long hall in Barbarian Village. Master Samuel was coming out of hiding to meet them. He had been very busy in the last few weeks. First of all, he had been helping in the search for Gypsy Aris. Second, he had been helping a new friend. This person, apparently, was very strong, and could easily kill anyone who opposed Master Samuel and his cronies. _

_After a few minutes of waiting, Master Samuel and the mysterious cloaked man came from the direction of the wilderness. They both had identical, evil grins._

"_You are my people!" Master Samuel shouted, and the muttering among the wizards was gone in an instant of hurried hushing._

"_My people," Master Samuel said, pacing down and up. "I'm sure you've heard of the other world by now. Our plan is circulating around that world. It is the world in which Ilookgood99, and some others, have come from. But, there aren't just people who are against us that come from it. I have managed to hire a person from that world. This person has managed, using energy from the other world, to make him extremely strong. He is going to aid us in the invasion of the Stronghold of Security. He can't come to introduce himself right now, but you'll meet him in time._

"_I'm confident all of you know the plan, but, for those forgetful ones, I'll repeat it. The Stronghold of Security has been infected by the darkness spreading, mainly because of us and our….plans. It is bursting with possessed creatures, which will give us no problems, especially since I was the one who possessed them. We will work our way through it. You might have troubles, since there have been rumours about the walls collapsing, because of the disturbances. When you arrive at the bottom, you will wait at the cradle of life for me. There are two things I want to take from there-a bone from the bottom floor (that is another ingredient I need for our potion) and the…"_

I woke up, screaming. My head was pounding. I was trapped in my blankets! I wriggled myself out of my bed, and landed on my head on the dusty floor with a bang. Moaning, I sat up, and rubbed the bump that had formed on my head. I remembered with a jolt of excitement the happenings of yesterday.

I had been working hard most of the day for Clayguy7. I was rewarded dearly. Later, I got in a fight with Gunther the Brave, leader of Barbarian Village. Worse yet, he was possessed! I was very lucky, because I wan. He dropped bones (which I buried, obviously), a huge sack of coins (which I stored), a stone hammer, and a huge stone sword. I couldn't wield the sword. You needed level 35 Attack to wield it. I could wield that hammer, though. I tested it out on some rats in the sewers, and it worked better then I expected it to. I went to celebrate in the long hall, and got very, very drunk.

I yawned, and went to splash water on my face from the tap. I put on my weapon belt, some decent clothes, and went down the stairs.

In the kitchen of the rune shop, I got some meat and eggs from the larder. I got a saucepan from the shelves above, cracked the egg inside, slapped some meat on the stove, and let it all cook. The sun was sparkling outside. I waved my Barbarian hammer around a bit, only to smash a few plates. Just as I finished cleaning them up, Amy11 walked inside.

She looked and smelled beautiful- her long, blonde hair went down to her thighs like spun gold. Her very cute blue eyes twinkled in the morning sunshine. I found myself stuttering a hello. She was so cute, I found myself forcing my eyes away from her cleavage. I really liked her-I loved her, as a matter of fact.

"Good morning, sunshine. You're up early," she trilled, going up to me and giving me her usual form of greeting-a hug.

"I woke up from a nightmare, I'll explain about it later, when there are more people here," I said. She smiled.

"Remember last night? You were absolutely hammered," she said. "It was cute, watching you chat up girls you didn't even know." I blushed furiously.

More and more people crowded into the kitchen. Just as Creator walked into the room, rubbing sleep out of his eyes, I stood up to make my announcement. "People," I said. "I've had another dream." Everyone gasped. One of Mainiac97's dreams meant something really bad!

I explained my dream to everyone. Aubury was looking very concerned. "I've heard about the Stronghold of Security too, that it has been infected with darkness. Apparently, the final reward has had minor changes. If Master Samuel wants something, it can't be good. We must beat him to the final reward, or something very bad will happen, I can tell!" We all roared in agreement. "Go get supplies, and meet me in barbarian Village!" There was another tumultuous roar of applause, and everyone charged off to get stuff. I heard Osrie1 muttering about runes and meat pies, I heard Mark ranting about throwing axes, and I heard Slinky contemplating about getting her machete.

I ran to the bank to fetch some more arrows, runes and spare healing tonic. I ran towards barbarian Village, feeling for my hammer. It would become _very_ useful in my trek into the Stronghold.

I arrived at the scene. Clayguy7 stepped forward.

"I've volunteered to help with this 'breach of security'," Clayguy7 said, smiling warmly. "Well," he then said, staring at me, his gaze boring into me like a drill. "You can go first." I stepped forward, and looked into this black hole. It seemed like it would go on forever. I gulped, and stepped inside, wondering what'll be at the bottom.


	41. Chapter 41: Of Diaries and Sins

_**Chapter 41: Of Diaries and Sins**_

I stumbled down the hole, into the Stronghold of Security.

It was almost exactly as I imagined it. Filthy, rocky black walls seemed to moan with pain. A rotting skeleton lay nearby, with a strange green book within it. Blood spattered the floor, and there was an orange portal nearby. Carved into it was, 'You may not enter this portal unless you have beaten the floor'.

"Beaten the floor?" I asked thin air, nonplussed, having vivid mental images of me smashing my fist into the floor, as people climbed down behind me. "What does it mean by that?"

"It means a lot of things," a voice said from the shadows. From them, a man came. He wore shiny, but very dirty and blood-spattered, white amour. He held a meat pie in his hand, which he was munching on vigorously. Osrie1 glared at him jealously from behind me. He had sludge-green eyes, and, as he took his helmet off, I saw black hair. This man looked rather young, but very tired.

"I am Sinlimitless1234," he said as-a-matter-of-factly. I tried to memorize the name. He laughed at my furrowed brow. "You know, to save your memory, just call me Sin." I sighed with relief. That was a shorter, easier name to remember.

"Well, to answer your question, the Stronghold of Security has four floors, which gets more difficult the further down you travel. Recently, some sort of darkness has taken over the whole thing. All the creatures are possessed, the gates won't open for you, and need to be forced open; corridors are collapsing, and even the final rewards for each floor have been meddled with. It will be a very dangerous and life-threatening trip through the stronghold; you'd better be fully prepared." I nodded. Sin smiled warmly. "I will accompany you-Saradomin knows I'm putting my life at risk, living in a place like this."

While Sin went to repeat what he just said to me to everyone else, I went towards the skeleton with the book inside. Cringing, I bent down to touch a rib, to crack it open so I could get the book. Just as my skin went in contact with the bone, the eye sockets of the skeleton were filled with red light, and it jumped up. The book clattered noisily inside it as it jumped up.

It screeched loudly at me, bones clanking. It lunged forwards. I dodged it, and struck the skull with my hammer. A small crack appeared, and the skeleton lost hit points. Mark sent a throwing axe flying at it, only for it to sent some ribs flying. Capablanca sent a massive, brown, cracked, gassy ball of energy at it, and it crumbled to dust.

I thanked him for his 'crumble of the undead', and knelt over to pick up the book. It was a vomit-coloured green, with a metal buckle keeping it shut. The lock was so rusty; it collapsed into a pile of brown dust when I touched it.

I turned the page, and on the very first page there was the title: The diary of an explorer. I stared, bewildered, at the title, and began to read.

_Day 1_

_I was mining today in the village of the Barbarians. As I smashed my axe into a coal rock, the rock cracked open, crumbled to dust before my very eyes, and a small, thin black tunnel was visible, just the size for a man to squeeze through. The reason I was mining today was because I knew there was some sort of tunnel under here. That is why I made this diary; to record my findings._

As I finished reading the first entry, Sin went up to me.

"I knew that explorer," he said, sadly. "We were friends, years ago. He was famous for finding the Stronghold-he only wrote this entry for the day he found it. The next entries were written only a month or so ago.

_Day 2-years later_

_I haven't been writing in this book for a while now, simply because I discovered a cave-which is now the famous Stronghold of Security. But, recently, strange things have been happening. People have gone in, and haven't come back out. I've packed my bags-I'm going in to re-explore the whole place._

_I've now entered, and it is darker than the last time I was in here. Not only that, but the gates of security, which normally ask me questions, have turned some sort of red-and I have to now force my way through them. I have encountered thousands of possessed creatures-and I'm only on the first floor. _

_At last, I have reached the first reward-the gift of peace! It is amazing-light pours from every pore of this magnificent area-no monster, possessed of not, can enter without great suffering. Inside the gift of peace, there are rewards-they seem normal to me, not even close to meddled with. The only exception is that there seems to be half a skull inside. I decided to leave it there, and not to tamper with the unknown._

_As I enter the second floor, I smell something rotten in the air-I fear for my life._

_Day three_

_The gates seem to be made out of dust and filth. I am very concerned about what I will encounter. There are new beasts on this floor- creature called flesh crawlers. They were also, sadly, possessed. I fought through hoards of flesh crawlers, zombies, and spiders. I feel my health depleting after every second in this place. I am running low on food, and have been forced to eat the remains of the flesh crawlers. This isn't helping me one bit._

_I have finally reached the grain of plenty! Inside, there are typical rewards, including what looks like half a staff carved from bone. I feed on the grain, and it fills me with food and joy. I fill my bag with the stuff, and go down to the third floor._

_Day four_

_The moment I entered this floor, a large handful of green shit fell on my head. This place is disgusting-it smells something dreadful, and green tentacles emerging from the wall ooze green slime. My boots tramp through all this sludge-and huge, bull-like, green beasts attack me from all corners. They seem to be draining my health._

_I was attacked earlier by a huge scorpion. I managed to fend the creature off, but I was severely damaged. I have eaten all my grain-it does no difference. I feel the scorpion's poison fill my body. I will die soon, I know it. I crawl back to the entrance through the green, sticky vine. Maybe the Barbarians will help me, if I make it. I am dying…._

The rest of the pages are blank. Sin reads sadly over my shoulder.

"He only made it as far as here before he collapsed, and died," Sin said, sniffing. I put the diary back in its rightful place-the dust of a brave explorer.

Just as I turn around, I hear yells of "Die! Die! Die!" from the corridor. As I turn around, dozens of dark wizards came around the corner, hissing, and red-eyed rats at their feet. I grab Silverlight, preparing to fight to the death. Just as I run forward, I hear some sort of whooshing sound, like some sort of mechanical device starting up.


	42. Chapter 42: The Black Fly

_**Chapter 42: The Black Fly**_

Just as I turn around, I hear yells of "Die! Die! Die!" from the corridor. As I turn around, dozens of dark wizards came around the corner, hissing, and red-eyed rats at their feet. I grab Silverlight, preparing to fight to the death. Just as I run forward, I hear some sort of whooshing sound, like some sort of mechanical device starting up.

Just as I pull Silverlight out of my belt, I see a black shape fly past me, and straight into Creator, who was sent flying back into the wall behind him. The speeding, black shape flew briskly towards Osrie1. I saw a quick flash of green, and Osrie1 had a huge, deep cut in his stomach. He gurgled, fell back, and Slinky and Aubury rushed forwards to aid him. The black shape stopped, giving me just enough time to see what or who it was.

It was a man. This man, however, didn't wear clothes from this time line. He wore sleek, black leather clothes that fitted him at exactly the right angle. His taut muscled rippled under his leather costume. He wore a vast, black, goggle-like mask, hiding his face, which had green on the edge. A black belt with several sword-shaped pouches hung from his waist. Green, metal machinery hissed and puffed on his back. On his large, black boots, there were round pouches.

The most curious part about him, though, was what he was riding on to keep him in the air. It was very curious-it looked like a massive, silver stick, with more green machinery on it. The object was emitting a loud humming noise, and there were two fans at the bottom, which were whirling, making the hum. Flames erupted from under the metal stick.

This man on the metal stick pressed a button on his hand, and his mask disappeared behind his head. I cold see red eyes, red hair, and pale skin. His eyes flickered to my eyes, which were pointing at his metal stick. He chuckled maliciously.

"I'm guessing you like my Sky Stick," he said. "I am the Black Fly. I came from another world-I was sent here by Zamorak himself to aid Master Samuel and his people with their plan. All this machinery I have here is from the world I, and possibly you, come from. Enough chat, let me do what I came here to do-decapitate you all!" The Black Fly snarled. He took a sword from his belt. It glowed a strange green, was sharper then even Silverlight, and buzzed with energy. He swung it towards me, but I jumped, and an unlucky dark wizard behind me got decapitated.

Chaos broke out. Several binds of pain flew over my head and, unfortunately, Mark got caught in one. His armour protected his body from the spikes. Amy11 warded the possessed giant rats off with her dagger, while Haru smashed his axe into the skulls of dark wizards. Haldir6, shouting a war-cry, and sunk his poisoned dagger deep into the gut of a rat. All this time, I was running. I was running for my life from a furious Black Fly.

Controlling his Sky-Stick, he flew after me, as I ran as fast as I could through a corridor. From one of his pouches, he threw a black dagger at me. I ducked, and it sunk itself into the wall, before flying back into the Black Fly's hand. Just as he went close to me, he made a motion with his sword to stick it right through me, but it missed. Just as I was running, I hit a gate.

This gate was unlike any other gate I'd ever seen; it was black, rusted, and very big. The most interesting feature about it, however, was the red eyes at the top of the gate. They stared, unnerved, at me, running from the Black Fly. I shook the gate's bars angrily.

"Can you open up, please?" I begged the gate. I'm sure that the gate would smile, if it had a mouth.

"Normally, I would open up if you answered a question, but some strange force has given me free will, which is strange for a gate of war like me," the door answered sourly. "I don't want to open for a noob like you, thank you very much." I screamed with frustration, looking behind me as the Black Fly closed in on me, grinning ear to ear.

In a bid for freedom, I smashed my hammer into the gate of war. It shook violently, and the gate made a grunt of pain. It couldn't fight back, because it was a gate. It shook violently at being hit, though.

I continued bashing it with everything I could-my fists, my hammer, Silverlight, even a rock from the wall. It was too late, though; The Black Fly had his sword at the ready. He waved it at my neck, but I ducked, and instead it hit the gate. The gate seemed to scream; it flew off its hinges, and collapsed at my feet.

"Thanks," I laughed at the Black Fly, ducking under his Sky-Stick, and running back to the fight.

Hissing with rage, he chassed after me, swinging his huge sword at me with a massive amount of force. I ducked, swung around, and punched him squarely on the mask. He hissed again, and before he could fire up his sky-stick to chase me, I was gone.

When I got there, it was pandemonium. Both sides were fighting the better fight. Clayguy7, using his clay axe, chopped a rat in half, while a dark wizard caused Amy11 a great deal of pain. At that sight, my inner demons roared in protest; I marched up to the wizard, and punched him in the nose, causing it to break. He screamed in pain as blood, scarlet and fresh, poured openly down his face. I smashed my hammer in his gut, and he keeled over. I laughed manically, unlike myself. I was causing pain-and, for some reason, it felt great! Amy11 stared at me, her mouth agape. When I looked up and saw that, I instantly felt ashamed for my moment of enjoyment in the pain of others. That still didn't give me an excuse NOT to kill this wizard. I thrust Silverlight into his heart and he felt no more.

Haldir6 marched up to me, kicking a knocked out wizard in the gut as he passed. "We need your help over here," he whispered urgently to me. I nodded, and followed him. In a corner of the room, I spotted Osrie1, Mark and Slinky being cornered by James and a small army of dark wizards. He cackled at the sight of me.

"Hello, Mainiac97," he said. "I remember our last encounter clearly-wasn't it hanging off the edge of the Varrock Palace? I'm going to dismember you, nice and slowly," he said, a manic grin on his face. He grabbed me by the neck, and threw me to the other side of the room. Wizards, allies and black stone walls melted together into a mad palette, as I was sent crashing into the opposite wall. I ran up to James, and kicked him in the groin. He shuddered, and, with a blast of darkness, smashed me into the floor. Haldir6 helped me up, ordered me to get more people to lend a hand, and tried to sink his dagger into James's flesh. I called Haru and Clayguy7 over to help, and ran over to kill a Dark Wizard.

After ages of fighting, the Black Fly flew over us. "To my people," he shouted, his voice booming over all of us. "Master Samuel has sent me a message-all people are to report straight to the second floor." He flew away, being followed by James, and all the people, leaving all of me and my friends alone with many dead bodies.

Aubury called us all to gather. "While fighting, I have thought of a battle strategy," he explained. "We will split into three groups- the exploration group, the attack group, and the support group. I have written down who will be in which group on several pieces of paper, which is being handed around." Creator passed me a note. I read it.

_Exploration:_

_Mainiac97_

_Osrie1_

_Amy11_

_Haldir6_

_Attack:_

_Haru Axe-man_

_Mark_

_Slinky_

_Aubury_

_Support:_

_Clayguy7_

_Capablanca_

_Creator_

_Sinlimitless1234_

Sin stepped forward.

"This is how it works," he said. "The Exploration team will go right through the stronghold, being backed up by the attack team. They will try to find out what Master Samuel, James, the Black Fly, and the mysterious cloaked figure are up to. Once they've figured out what's going on and gotten to the final floor, they will then team up with the attack team, and try to stop the plan.

"The attack team is the sister team to the exploration team. They will go ahead of exploration and support, and destroy anything that will pose a threat-that means possessed creatures, gates, and dark forces. They are consisted of the strongest players. They are basically clearing the way, so we don't run into anything too bad. They are to team up with the exploration team at the final floor, since it is the most dangerous.

"The final team, of course, is the support team. They have the least important roles, yet also they are very important. They will stay at the very back-if any team needs aid, then one member from the support team will go back. At every reward, one person from the team will stay behind. Let us say that the exploration team is in serious trouble with something on the second floor-they will go back to the first floor's reward, alert the support member there, and that member will go to the world above to get extra help. They will be happy to supply extra information."

"Any more questions from anyone?" Sin asked. The place was silent-so silent you could hear a pin drop from the other side of the stronghold. "Fine, the attack team will go first, and then the others will follow."Haru Axe-man, Mark, Slinky, and Aubury gathered, and went forward into the corridor in front. A few minutes later, my team-the exploration team-followed, into the dark unknown.


	43. Chapter 43: A Shadow of Doubt

_**Chapter 43: A Shadow of Doubt**_

"_Come on!" James yelled, as his dark wizards lagged behind, moaning and groaning. "Hurry up, or I'll set the ground under your feet on fire!" They sighed, and ran up to him. He stopped suddenly, hearing a rustling behind him._

_He was by the gift of peace, waiting to ambush the troop of gullible do-gooders. The Black Fly had rushed ahead to meet Master Samuel on the third floor. He'd asked James to get the first piece while he went to the bottom to control all the creatures in the stronghold._

_Just as James started to relax, he heard a battle-cry. A team of four 'good guys' came. The four of them went into a battle stance, and rushed forward to meet the dark wizards._

I gasped as I jumped up from my slumber. Our team had decided to have a short break from exploring. We were almost at the gift of peace-the reward of the first floor. We'd already fought countless possessed monsters-even though the attack team were supposed to clear the way. Maybe more monsters had come. Before our little nap, we'd fought a hoard of angry goblins led by a furious Minotaur. I looked at my list again.

_Exploration:_

_Mainiac97_

_Osrie1_

_Amy11_

_Haldir6_

_Attack:_

_Haru Axe-man_

_Mark_

_Slinky_

_Aubury_

_Support:_

_Clayguy7_

_Capablanca_

_Creator_

_Sinlimitless1234_

I was so glad Haldir6 was on our side-he'd saved my life so many times in this dungeon I'd lost count. Just as I yawned, stretched, and sat up, the others slowly started waking up. When all of us were awake, Haldir6 waved for attention. "OK, we should make a move on, before we attract the attention of some unwanted goblins!" he yelled. We followed him down a long corridor. At the end, a red-eyed steel-wrought gate of war stood there.

"You know, I'm not opening," he announced. Haldir6 grinned, and smashed his fist into it. The gate groaned, and collapsed into dust. At that moment, I heard a rumbling. Large stones began to fall from the ceiling.

"Oh crap," Haldir6 murmured. "The corridor's caving in! Everybody out!" We were about to run, but Osrie1 had stopped. His face was slowly turning red.

"What's the matter? Hurry up; we're going to get crushed!" I said impatiently.

"OUCH!" he screamed, and I noticed why. A white wolf stood behind him, its teeth sunk deep into his buttocks. I yelled, and tried to kill it with Silverlight. It roared, and lunged at me, its blood-stained fangs inches from my face. The rumbling went more aggressive, and a large lump of rock fell.

"Hurry up!" Haldir6 snarled, but he noticed me fighting with the wolf. He went up to it, and stabbed it with his poisoned dagger right in its ribcage. It howled, and its red eyes slowly transformed back into a normal yellow. It transformed into bones and wolf fur.

"I'm getting worried," Haldir6 thought out loud. "When one wolf comes with a taste for blood, that means a pack is approaching. There are quite a few packs of wolves in this area of the stronghold-we'd better hurry or we might be their next snack." Just as we left the corridor, the rumbling rose to a crescendo and the whole corridor caved in. As rocks and dust flew everywhere, I wondered what would have happened if we'd spent a second longer there.

I was more worried then I'd ever been before. It was pitch-black in here-the darkness seemed to press into my eyeballs. Osrie1 was using a hand of guidance spell-something Aubury taught him-to put some light into the place. I had to squint to see the dull grey walls that surrounded us. Bloodstains were on the floor in the cave area we were in. I wondered if the attack team were alright.

"I'm worried for our lives," I whispered to Amy11 as I caught up with her. "I wish we could turn back and leave Master Samuel to his devices. I don't want to run into the black fly again-that sword of his is something that will haunt me forever." She squeezed my hand reassuringly.

"Try not to worry," she said. "Doubt is a luxury we can't afford at the moment." I smiled back at her. She was right-if we started getting doubtful in situations like this, we'd never stop Master Samuel.

"Let's take a lunch break-I have bread and wine to give to those who didn't bring food." We all brought plenty of food anyway-I had over 50 meat sandwiches and jugs of water in my bag anyway. I was ravenous-I hadn't eaten since before we left. I pulled out a sandwich and began to eat it.

When I was half-way through it, I heard growling coming from the collapsed corridor. Stone and gravel was sent flying everywhere. I knew a big fight was coming. I stared longingly at the remains of my sandwich, and abandoned it to fight.

Through the hole that had exploded through was rubble, at least a dozen possessed wolves, led by three dark wizards, came through the wall. The lead wizard sneered.

"It was easy to avoid the attack team," he growled. "I just had to backtrack, blast some smoke, send a pack or two of wolves at them, and I could slip past to find you lot. You're planning to infiltrate our plans-we must stop you." I grabbed my Easter hammer, and prepared myself for a rather fierce brawl.

The bad guys rushed forward, yelling spells at us (the wolves didn't-the just snarled). I narrowly avoided a fire wave as I ran forward. I smashed my massive hammer into the skull of a wolf. He yelped, his read eyes flickering, and he, along with four other wolves, pounced at me. I, using quick reflexes, grabbed my cape, and a solid giant Easter egg surrounded me. The wolves scratched at it, roaring. I heard a grunt, a smashing sound, a few yelps, and then silence. Reassured that the coast was clear, I came out. I was met with the sight of a dark wizard, grinning evilly, with five perfectly healthy and very angry wolves. I gulped-they'd tricked me into coming out!

I elbowed the offending wizard in the face, kicked a wolf or two out of my way, and ran off. I sunk my sword through the body of a wolf, and ran forward to challenge a dark wizard who was terrorising Amy11.

This continued for a while, before we were surrounded with dead corpses. I sighed, partly because of relief, partly because of tiredness, partly because of pain. A dark wizard, unfortunately, had caught me in a bind of pain, and I would have died if it weren't because of Osrie1, who burst the bind apart. This recent bout of training, along with fighting so many people before, had raised my combat level to 25.

"Come on then, we'd better make a move on to the gift of peace," Haldir6 said, unsure, and we trooped off, a shadow of doubt in our hearts.


	44. Chapter 44: The Gift of Peace

_**Chapter 44: The Gift of Peace**_

_(10 minutes earlier, the attack team's point of view….)_

Grunting, Haru Axe-man smashed down a gate of war as he went through, wiping grunge off his forehead. To remind himself of who was in his team, he took out his list.

_Exploration:_

_Mainiac97_

_Osrie1_

_Amy11_

_Haldir6_

_Attack:_

_Haru Axe-man_

_Mark_

_Slinky_

_Aubury_

_Support:_

_Clayguy7_

_Capablanca_

_Creator_

_Sinlimitless1234_

Haru groaned. Rubbing his eyes, he continued to trek through. He saw a footstep. He took a sample from the footstep onto his finger, and sniffed. He growled.

"I smell filth. Dark wizards, to be precise," he whispered to himself.

As he continued through, he heard footsteps from behind him. He swung around.

"One more step, and I will throw this axe right into your skull!" he bellowed.

"Well, that isn't the most romantic proposition I've ever had," a female voice replied. From the shadows, Slinky came through. She winked at Haru cheerily. "You need to learn proper patience-you've left the rest of the team in the dust." Haru blinked apologetically.

Aubury and Mark appeared soon after. Mark ran straight towards Slinky.

"Slinky, my love! I thought I'd lost you!" he shouted, his arms out. Slinky grunted, and kicked him in the crotch. He knelt over, howling.

"Thanks, but no thanks," she said.

They trekked on, until they saw light around the corner. But someone was talking. They tiptoed forward, and listened.

"Come on!" a voice yelled. "Hurry up, or I'll set the ground under your feet on fire!" They recognised that voice-it was James. They all ran forward, poised to fight.

_(Current time, exploration team's point of view)_

"OK then, troops, let's stop for a rest," haldir6 said, finally. I stopped, sat down, and rubbed my aching feet. I was sure I was getting trench-foot-my feet were swollen and were slightly blue. I gulped down a meat sandwich quickly, before sitting up, and following the others. We saw light from around the corner.

We could hear shouting, screaming, and smashing. A dark wizard went flying towards us. Haldir6 used his fist to push him back into the stone wall. I nodded at them, and we all ran into battle.

It was extraordinarily unfair. There must have been at least fifty dark wizards, while the attack team tried to hold them all off by themselves. In the distance, past all the fighting figures, there was a golden chest. From nowhere, a heavenly light illuminated this gift. The soil around the gift was clean, fresh, pure, and perfect. No baddies were near the light-it probably killed anything evil that went near it.

I walked up to a dark wizard, and punched him in the face. I broke his nose, and blood trickled down his face. He grinned, licked his lips, and lunged at me. I dodged, and smashed him over the head with my stone hammer. He collapsed at my feet. He whistled, and died silently. My victory was very short-another dozen wizards ran towards me.

Just as I finished the lot, and I was drinking a healing tonic, James spotted me, and ran forward, grinning nastily.

"Mainiac97, you and your friends have caused enough trouble for us. It is time to dispose of you all!" he bellowed manically. "Fist of death!"

He punched the air, and where his fist was, I saw a glimmer of shadow. Then, all of a sudden, a huge gust of wind nearly blew me off my feet. A black vortex was being created where the shadow was, swirling menacingly. It flew towards me, and before I could even swear, I was blasted off my feet, swirling swiftly in this vortex. My head throbbed, my body ached, and, all of a sudden, I was floating in the air. The vortex had disappeared, and was replaced by a fist made of shadows. The fist flew into my gut, and disappeared.

I knelt over, winded. The place where the fist hit felt like it had been through a blender. I felt too weak to barely breathe, let alone stand up and fight. James, grinning wickedly, walked towards me casually.

"The fist of death isn't an easy spell to cast," he said. "It weakens me temporarily, but slowly, the pain will spread all over your body, and you will die. Unless the correct cure is given to you straight away, you'll die." I groaned. "But I don't want to wait that long. I want to see you die right now." He grabbed my neck, and was about to snap it, when something hit his side. He looked down, and saw a clay knife in his side. He gasped for breath, shot me a last fleeting look, and disappeared. Just as he was gone, a sinister voice whispered in my ear, "Watch out for the horsemen." I wondered silently whet he meant by the horsemen. I knew that he wasn't dead-just going back up to heal. Clayguy7 ran up to me, a look of concern in his eyes.

"Are you alright?" he asked urgently. I shook my head. He frowned, and took out a bottle of potion from his pocket. He handed it to me.

"Drink it," he said. "Aubury handed it to the support team-it is a pure potion. Only someone pure of heat can brew it-it destroys all traces of evil from one's system." I nodded, and gulped this magic potion down. Aubury sure was good at magic and potion-making, I thought.

"Where are the others?" I asked.

"They are having a minor problem with some wolves and goblins, and they asked me to go ahead, to lend you lot a hand." I nodded, and thanked him. I ran off to join in the growing battle.

A bunch of dark wizards crowded around Haru when they discovered he was the one wiping most of them out. They all cast the bind of pain at him. At least a dozen binds of pain flew towards him, and he was trapped in a spiky rope. He screamed with agony as he struggled against the bind. I felt handfuls of hit points being tugged away from him. When he reached 3hp, he broke from the binds. He elbowed some wizards out the way to get to me.

"I need to leave to heal. I'll come back with supplies. Watch out for the black fly- that world of yours seems like a very dangerous one," he whispered to me, before teleporting away.

Just as I'd finished slaughtering my twenty-fifth dark wizard, a mysterious cloaked man entered the war. I gasped-I recognised him from my dream, after the fight with Gunther the Brave!

He went up to a wizard, and whispered in his ear urgently. The wizard replied, a look of worry on his face. I ran forward, attempting to confront this mysterious cloaked man, but some dark wizards got in my way. I yelled as the mysterious man walked forward to the army that was ambushing us.

"PEOPLE!!" he shouted, and everyone fell quiet. "All Dark Wizards must report to the second floor-Master Samuel requires your assistance."

"But what about the piece?" a dark wizard shouted back.

"Master Samuel says it isn't necessary," the cloaked man replied. "What we do need is the bone piece from the final floor, but Master Samuel is having…complications…downstairs. He needs you. Go!" he barked, and he, along with the legion of dark wizards, ran downstairs.

When they were all gone, I walked forward, into the light. I felt a glorious peace spread from my toes to my head. It was like sinking into a hot bath. I opened the catch on the chest, and it sprung open.

Inside was glorious-several rewards littered the bottom. There was a sack of coins, which I grabbed, opened, and shared equally among us. There was some of the finest wine, which I also shared. I found a most curious object-it looked like a yellow shell that seemed to release light from its depths. There was a note attached, which read 'this is a shell of peace. Open it up in the most heated of arguments and battles, and it will smooth it over. Once it has been used _three times_, it will lose the stored inner peace, and will become a pretty decoration."

It was the final reward which struck me. It was the half-skull which was described in the diary-it seemed slightly rugged, and must have been sawed apart, for no hand could snap it so cleanly. I pocketed the shell and the skull half, just in case.

Haru returned, fully healed, with loads of lobsters for everyone. We feasted on them in the glorious light, and kept some for the floor of famine. Clayguy7 decided to stay behind, so if anything was wrong, we could return to him. Just as the attack team left, to go ahead, I started wondering what James meant by the horsemen.

We all left for the floor below. Clayguy7 prepared himself for a nice, long nap, when he heard an evil chuckle from behind him. He sat up, alert.

"Who is it?" he asked.

"Your worst nightmare," an awful voice replied. Clayguy7 sat up, holding his clay axe.

"State your name," he said.

"I am war, of the four horsemen," the voice replied.

"What the heel are the four horsemen?" he angrily asked.

"Haven't you heard of the four horsemen of the apocalypse? Created by Zamorak in the God Ward through War, Famine, Pestilence, and Death, we seek refuge here, in the darkness. We each have a floor dedicated to us, didn't you know? You will now suffer, trespasser, by the blunt blade of the sword of War!" Clayguy7 heard a horse whinny, the sound of hooves, and a most horrible figure appeared, holding a huge, black sword. Clayguy7 yelled, and tried, and failed, to flee. War of the four horsemen dragged him into the shadows, where he would have to have the greatest war of a lifetime.


	45. Chapter 45: The Hunt

_**Chapter 45: The Hunt**_

I couldn't describe the horrors of our first hour or so in the second floor of the Stronghold of Security-the catacomb of famine. If anything, the decoration choice was worse-everything on this floor was rotten. The soil in the floor was rotten, the dirt on the walls was rotten, even the creatures were rotten. Flesh crawlers were a nightmare-with giant pincers, two red eyes, and six huge legs, they tried to rip the flesh from you with their acid spit and their pincer strike. Zombies were zombies-white, pale, slow, moaning, possessed creatures were very common on this floor. Everything was starving, even the doors-they stared at us hungrily with their red eyes as they refused entrance.

Most of our food was growing rotten in the presence of this floor-if we didn't get to the grain of plenty soon, our food would rot completely and we would starve. I didn't want to end up like the poor explorer at the top, being forced to eat the corpses of flesh crawlers.

As we trod on, through starved doors made of solidified dust, past countless hungry flesh crawlers, zombies and rats, I started getting doubtful as to whether we were going to get out of here alive. The others started getting a familiar stronghold shadow of doubt too. Just as we were starting to discuss stopping for the third lunch-break, we heard a loud moaning from behind us. It seemed that at least twenty-five zombies had been following us, following our scent.

"Skip the break," I muttered, as we all got out our weapons-me, my hammer, Amy11, her pink dagger; Haldir6, his poisoned dagger, and Osrie1, his staff. We all ran forward to greet the zombies.

They lunged at us, trying to drag us off to join the undead. I could smell their putrid breath from here. I smashed one of them in the face, and its head flew off. The fact that it had a missing head undaunted it-it continued to follow my smell. It grabbed my neck, and for a heart-stopping moment, I'm sure I heard a small click. I shook it off, and swung around, knocking the zombie holding me into another zombie.

We were surrounded, and when I thought we were going to end up as a snack for these zombies, a booming voice sounded across the whole area.

"CRUMBLE OF THE UNDEAD!" the voice screamed, and a huge, brown explosion flew around the area. All the zombies in the vicinity _moaned_ a final time, and collapsed into dust. I looked up, and saw Capablanca, brandishing his staff like a sword. I sighed with relief, and ran to him.

"Good timing!" I said, patting him on the back.

"Yeah," he agreed, putting away his staff.

"Where are the others?" Osrie1 asked, as the others ran up to greet him.

"They were two slow, stopping for breaks every five seconds, so I ran ahead, to protect innocent noobs," he replied. Haldir6 coughed a bit too loudly, and took out his dagger threateningly. "But, they didn't need it, because of Haldir6," Capablanca then stuttered. We all laughed, and Haldir6 put away his dagger, giving Capablanca side stare.

_(Exploration team's point of view)_

"Where the hell is Capablanca?" Creator demanded. Sin sighed.

"If I've told you once, I've told you a hundred times," Sin replied slowly. "When Clayguy7 went ahead, Capablanca decided to follow. Anyway, we should pipe down, we're nearly at the gift of peace." They continued around a corner, and there it was-a golden chest, illuminated in a shining light, surrounded by pure soil. The soil didn't seem so pure any more, though-there were bloodstains and bits of flesh everywhere. "We must have missed most of the fun," he then said.

"Shame," Creator replied. I would have loved to maul Master Samuel's head in."

They continued forward, towards the ladder, when they saw Clayguy7's axe lying on the floor. Sin went forward to pick it up.

"I wonder what happened to him," he thought aloud. They went down the ladder into the second floor, and Sin was sure he could hear an evil chuckle behind him.

When the pair was gone, the voice was heard again. "They will suffer at the hands of famine, the same way that man clad in clay suffered at the blade of War."

_(Meanwhile, at the exploration teams trek….)_

We were making decent progress-just held back by hunger. All our food had either been eaten, or had rotted. I was sure we were at least half way, and I felt our luck was changing-I hadn't seen any creatures for at least half an hour. _But there might be a good reason for that_, a snide voice in the back of my head suggested. I ignored it, trying to remain optimistic.

Capablanca had decided to join us, for the sole purpose of his mighty 'protection'. He would leave us at the grain of plenty, to stay guard there. At least he would have plenty of food, I thought.

After we smashed down our hundredth gate, we stepped into a large clearing. It was empty, but there was an ominous air in here. The only thing to be seen for miles was another corridor. But, as I looked closer, I saw two bodies on the floor… I ran up to them. It was curious-I felt their heartbeat. One of them was as dead as dirt. The other one was alive and seemed to be stirring. While the live one sat up, I examined the dead one's body. It was curious-he was completely pale, and was ice-cold to the touch. He seemed to have been scared to death, but that was impossible.

"Where am I? The last thing I remember was being attacked," the live one moaned. "Who are you? Thanks for helping me. I'm Tom by the way. Where's Johnny?" he asked. I pointed sadly to the dead body next to me. He gasped, jumped up, and examined the body.

"Whatever got me killed him!" he cried.

"Hello Tom, I am Haldir6, this is Amy11, there two are Osrie1 and mainiac97, and that noob over there is Capablanca," Haldir6 said, smiling warmly. Capablanca huffed, offended. Tom shook hands with all of us. I looked closely at him.

He was rather tall, and had pale skin. His eyes were like mine, except a different shade of blue-I was a light sky blue, and he was a dark, smoother blue. He had a tan explorer's kit on, and wore a tan hard helmet. He had a belt, which had a knife, a small defence sword, a tin of waterproof grease (for feet to avoid trench foot), a rope, and a lantern on it. He had a bag pack, presumably with a portable bed, a pillow, and food and drink.

"I'd beware around here-I'm an explorer, and this is my friend. The thing that attacked us and murdered Johnny was humanoid, at least. You don't mind if I give Johnny a decent burial and tag along with you?" he asked timidly. We all nodded. He took a spade from his bag, and buried a large hole. He placed Johnny's body in it. He covered it up, took a marble stone from his pocket, and engraved a memory on it with his knife. He placed the stone on top of the grave, and sighed sadly. A tear fell from his eye, and I patted his back.

"Worse yet is that he isn't going to come back. Nowadays, when people die, they stay that way," sobbed.

Just as we were preparing to set off, I was sure I could here whispers from behind us. I urged everyone to get going. I had a bad feeling about this.

That moment, a figure moved amazingly fast towards us. I yelled, and we ran out of its way. Another three figures moved blindingly fast and agile towards us, and we backed off. They stopped for a fraction, and ran in our direction again. This time, one of them touched me. I felt ice-cold skin.

"RUN!" osrie1 yelled, and we skidded off, three of them in pursuit of us. The last one remained, smiling and hissing, while at least another ten came out of hiding. It was a male, at least.

"We shouldn't really play with our food," he hissed. A pale, bloodless hand burst from Johnny's grave. "The hunt is now…on."


	46. Chapter 46: Bloodlust

_**Chapter 46: Bloodlust**_

Gasping for breath, I rushed through the floor, smashing gates down desperately as I went. We'd just met a friendly man named Tom-an explorer who'd gotten attacked by a humanoid creature. His friend, unfortunately, was as dead as dirt. The creature had come back for more, and we (me, Osrie1, Amy11, Haldir6, Capablanca, and Tom) had fled the scene. Three of them were following us. They were ridiculously fast, and their skin was ice-cold. I heard a loud cackle from behind me as I ran. We skidded to a stop as we saw another four of them in front of us. The three that were chasing us stopped, and I saw them properly for the first time.

They all looked like humans-just a huge difference. They wore ragged, ripped clothes, and their skin was very pale. Their eyes were scarlet, but apart from that, they were handsome. The female wore expensive furs, and she attracted me strangely. Her alluring red eyes and her slim, beautiful, pale body seemed so enticing. She cackled, and the violins soaring in my veins screeched to a stop.

"What are you?" Haldir6 snarled.

"Us?" one of them said, smiling evilly. "We are the Cold Ones-more commonly known as…vampires." We all gasped. We all gasped, except me, of course.

"What's a vampire?" I asked, nonplussed. The only memory I had of the word 'vampire' was coffins, scary music, and haunted houses. The vampires stared at me angrily, while sneaking closer to us.

"A vampire is one of the vilest beings alive," Capablanca muttered darkly. "Their skin is pale, and they lure in their prey with their unnatural beauty. As they say, skin of an angel, soul of a devil. They love the taste of human blood-they feast on it. They can attack with unnatural speed and strength. You need proper guts to try and slay a vampire-they'll slay you first. If they choose to inject their poison in a person's body, the person will appear dead, before joining the vampires."

I gasped. Vampires sounded like awful creatures. I gave everyone the signal. On the count of three….one….two….

"THREE!" I yelled, and we ran like hell. Hissing, obviously pissed off, the vampires ran after us. They outran us, and I ducked out of the way before the female could grab me in her vice-like grip. In a desperate attempt to escape, I threw my one and only emergency iron dagger behind me. The female knocked it out of the way gracefully with her hand. No time to stop for it, though-unless I wanted to be their next meal.

It was no use. We skidded to a stop as the seven of them had us surrounded.

"So, the vampires are undead?" Capablanca muttered to Haldir6, as the vampires closed us in, licking their lips. Their pale skin shone with sweat. Haldir6 confirmed Capablanca's question with one nod.

"CRUMBLE OF THE UNDEAD!" Capablanca screamed, and a brown explosion surrounded us. The vampires continued towards us, undaunted, staring at us hungrily. With one huge swipe, one of them sent me to the floor.

"I'll take that one," the female said, as if we were a selection of chocolates, pointing at me. I backed off as she pranced towards me, hissing. I stood up, and slashed Silverlight in her face. A large, red scar appeared in her skin, which then faded. She stumbled back, giving us enough time to run past her and the others.

The chase was on again. We ran as fats as our legs could carry us, the agile this time, though, was the looming figure of the black fly in front of us.

"Blasted Master Samuel, false alarm, my ass….." The black fly muttered quietly to thin air, before he spotted us. Grinning in a way that reminded me of a cat about to eat a rat, he took out his large, green sword flamboyantly. We were cornered-vampires tailing us from one end of a corridor, the black fly flying towards us on his sky-stick in the other.

I ran forward to face the black fly, and ducked under his sky stick. He turned around, but accidentally crashed into a wall, and fell into the small crowd of vampires. He sat up, and looked around at the very pissed blood-drinkers. He jumped up a foot in the air, screamed, and, dragging his wrecked sky stick behind him, ran away past me. I chortled at this comical sight, but stopped chortling when several angry vampires lunged at me.

"You know, I give up. I can't run away much longer, my feet are killing me, and plus, we can't run very far from these creatures," Amy11 moaned. Even though I found her so attractive, I couldn't help but think of her as a lazy, stereotypical woman for saying that comment.

"Our master has spoken. He shall join the feast," the female hissed. Less then a second after her saying that, another dozen vampires came from behind us, trapping us. One of them stepped forward, and I recognised him as the leader-the one who attacked us first.

He was, clearly, the biggest and worst vampire here. Blood dripped from his mouth, and his skin was so pale you couldn't compare his hand to a sheet of parchment. His eyes were a deep black, and his hair was a filthy blonde. His teeth were huge, and absolutely filthy. His knuckles were the size of large rocks, and, instead of wearing ragged, filthy clothes, he wore a long, black cloak, and under that, a rather ragged tuxedo. He smiled wickedly towards us.

"Well, hello," he began. "My name, in its entirety, is Sir Mort Potter Roderick von Vampire, of the extensive Dracula family. To make it easier for your tiny brains to comprehend, you may call me Mort. I began this vampire tribe on the second floor, because it is the only proper place we are accepted. Upstairs, humans get slaughtered too easily, and we don't really like being around wolves. Downstairs, any bodies we find are usually diseased and inedible. On the last floor, the floor of the dead (or undead), we'd be quite welcome, if it weren't for the final horseman. Even though we are constantly starving, because of the lack of good prey, this is the only place in the whole stronghold where we can hunt safely. You're going to be one large feast, that's for sure. We're lusting after your _blood_," Mort sneered, grinning. Before I could say or even do anything, he'd jumped forward at the speed of sound, and scratched me. Blood leaked from the cut that had appeared there.

"NO!" Tom yelled; but, before I could move, I was surrounded by twenty-one suddenly ravenous vampires.

"What the HELL is happening here?" a very familiar person said, and the vampires spun around, irked. Creator and Sin stood there, the remaining members of the support team. Creator swore loudly.

"Vampires?! In the stronghold of security?! What in the name of Saradomin?" he stuttered, before he realised what was going on. Roaring with rage, he kicked Mort in the face. Mort flinched, and glared at Creator. "Sin, go with them. I'll sort out these guys," Creator ordered, sounding unsure. We didn't have to be told twice-we ran like there was no tomorrow.

We ran and ran and ran a bit more. By the end, we were exhausted, and were all panting for breath. We waited with baited breath. After what felt like hours, Creator decided to show up, panting, covered in bruises and scratches.

"I fought, and fought decently, but they're too strong, especially in numbers. I know Mort-not only do I know him, but I used to be friends with him in my youth. Little did I know he was a vampire," Creator muttered. "They nearly did bite me-I'm glad I fled, even though I've lost half my dignity. You can't kill them. I heard rumours that some sort of food can weaken them. We'd better keep going; they've got our scent, and are following us right now." I sighed, and sat up. We continued to trek through the stronghold-we'd be safe once we were at the grain of plenty.

I heard a small, quiet hiss from behind us. I swung around, and everyone stopped to stare, alarmed, at me. I squinted in the distance, and saw what looked like a cloud of dust. The cloud of dust was going towards me alarmingly fast. I looked closer and saw that it was a figure, with a cloud of dust rising behind him. I yelled.

"VAMPIRE!" I cried, and everyone looked around frantically. I looked at the corridor, and saw nothing. Then I jumped-something cold brushed against my skin. I could hear a low hiss in my ear. I heard a cackle, and Osrie1 screamed. One of his legs had a massive, bloody gash in it. Really scared now, I swung around. I wondered if I was becoming paranoid, but I kept hearing a voice whispering, 'I smell blood….I want blood…..blood…._blood…BLOOD!_' I kept looking around, and I saw the face of a pale, red-eyed vampire. I blinked, and it was gone. Capablanca yelled. He had a huge cut on his arm. Blood was dripping everywhere.

"Let's get the hell out of here!" Sin bellowed, and we all didn't need telling twice. We ran as fast as we could down the corridor. I kept hearing echoing cackles around me. The vampires were following us, in some sort of stealth mode. A pale hand swiped for my head, but I ducked. I wasn't concentrating on where I was going, as long as it was away from these creatures. I was so engrossed in following the others and getting away that I didn't see where I was going. I smashed into somebody. I looked up, and saw Mort staring down at me hungrily.

"Sorry to disappoint you, boys and girls, but we're not going to let a perfectly decent meal get away from us that easily. We're always starving on this floor; it isn't called the catacomb of famine for nothing, you know." We were suddenly surrounded by vampires. One jumped at me, and landed on top of me. He desperately attempted to bite my neck, but he wasn't having much luck. I wriggled my way out of his grasp. Just like me, everyone was struggling with a vampire or two. Tom was the unlucky one-he had to endure the full muscled fury of Mort. I vomited at what came next.

Mort, snarling furiously, grabbed Tom's head. He twisted it a full 180 degrees. I heard a loud crunch and snapping, like snapping twigs. Mort then pulled Tom's head off-a look of pain and horror was paused on his face. His body, spurting blood like a scarlet fountain, fell to the floor.

I gasped, tears running down my face. My body filled with sadness at the death of yet another friend. I had a brief flashback of Sir Vant, a brave white knight, sacrificing his life to keep me alive. He took the full blunt of a deadly curse from Master Samuel that was meant to be for me. It wasn't fair-I had just met Tom, and he' been brutally killed.

All of a sudden, my sadness and agony was replaced with anger. The anger that filled my lungs like a deadly fluid was strong and unbridled. I felt a slight vibration in the pocket that contained the skull half. Osrie1, while trying his best to avoid the blows of a vampire, looked towards me, worried.

"Mainiac97?" he asked, with a note of worry in his voice. "You're eyes are red. Are you feeling OK?" I ignored him, and stepped towards a vampire drinking from the pools of Tom's blood on the floor.

"You killed my friend." My voice shook with fury. This felt unnatural for me-was it normal for me to be this angry? I felt powerful, too. "You, your friends and your leader killed my friend! You have no right to go near an innocent person!" The vampire stared up at me mockingly.

"You're going to end up the same," he chuckled, sitting up. I smiled back at him coldly.

"I don't bloody think so!" I roared. I grabbed his neck. A look of surprise was on his face, before I slammed him into a wall. Everyone stopped what they were doing to look. He stuttered what sounded like an apology, before I pounded him into the ground. He sat up, wheezing, and I grabbed him by the scruff of the neck. I threw him into the wall again. He tried vainly to stop my rage, but there was no stopping it. My skull half shook harder then ever, but I ignored it. I was seeing red-my mind concentrated on only killing this vampire. I smashed him into the ground. I could hear yells of pain. I stamped on his neck, and a wonderful crack resounded though the area. I could hear what sounded like a twisted version of crying coming from him. I pulled him up.

"Want your mommy?" I mocked, before disarming him-literally. I tore his body up in such a gruesome way I couldn't even describe him. I then threw the pieces everywhere.

"You want flesh and blood? THERE'S YOUR FLESH AND BLOOD!" I bellowed. Amy11 stepped up to me, alarmed.

"Mainiac97?" she questioned. I saw a tear on her face. I softened up, and instantly regretted my show of anger. Strangely enough, the vibrating in my pocket stopped. I gave her a look of apology. She smiled warmly-my eyes were probably blue again. I decided to keep up the act, though.

"You guys want to end up like him?" I roared falsely. "Then you'd better clear off!" At that moment, most of the vampires fled, howling with rage. Mort stepped up to me suspiciously.

"You know," he began. "I have been blessed a slight gift. There is the occasional rare vampire that has these gifts. Most vampires have speed, strength, and are virtually indestructible. The only way to kill a vampire, practically, is to do what you just did. But my gift is a smidge of mind-reading. And I can read your mind-just a second ago, all I could see was red. But, now I can see you trying to scare us away. But I'm not thick-I will not allow good food to get away so easily." The remaining vampires nodded in agreement, and the battle ensued. I noticed no vampire was even going near me. I decided to take the moment to have a small meal.

I took out a meat sandwich. Aubury had made it for me-apparently, it had been spiced up with some sort of vegetable that made your breath smell bad. I bit into it, and it was delicious. The chewy, cold meat tasted nice in my mouth, even better with the vegetable that started with the letter G. Mort stared at it, horrified, along with all the other vampires. Suddenly, they all started moaning.

"I didn't foresee this," Mort choked. "I'm not letting you slip away that easily. I'll be back to get you-we can't stay on this floor much longer, anyway, we're too hungry." All of the vampires ran off, and we all sighed with relief.

I finished my sandwich with relish. Haldir6 led the way.

"The sooner we get off this floor, the sooner we can get away from the zombies, flesh crawlers and vampires," he said, a tone of depression in his voice. And so our journey through the stronghold of security continued as planned.

We soon arrived at the grain of plenty, as planned. There was another heavenly light coming off from the ceiling. Under it, there was a sack full of grain. I reached inside.

I fished out another sack full of coins, which I shared out evenly. There, instead of the finest wine, was a box full of the finest apples. They were rich and juicy when I bit into one. We had a feast of the edible and delicious grain and apples. The box in which they came in read 'apples of plenty'.

There were two more rewards at the top of the sack. One was a box full of green seeds. There was a note pinned to the box. I unpinned it, and it read 'these are the seeds which will grow the apples of plenty. A bite of an apple of plenty is enough to fill your stomach up. Give one to a homeless, starving man, and it could possibly be enough to feed him for a whole year. No farming level is necessary to grow one-all you need is the equipment. Enjoy the feast of a lifetime!' I gave everyone a handful.

The last reward was half of a staff. I picked it up. It felt solid and reliable in my hand. It felt strangely like bone. It must be related to the half skull. I put it in my bag.

Everyone went to settle down for a final nap, but I couldn't sleep. I kept thinking about what happened today-the horrors of travelling through the first two floors, a huge war at the gift of peace, running away from vampires, seeing a brand new friend being slaughtered in front of my eyes…

"Hey, mainiac97…." a quiet voice whispered from the shadows at the other end of the room. Ilookgood99 stepped from them, his shining face settled into a warm smile. "Come with me-I haven't seen you for a small while, haven't I?" I followed him.

"So, how's the travelling going?" he asked casually.

"It's been hell," I replied. "I don't want to hear the word 'vampire' for a long, long time." He chuckled at that.

"You're here precisely for this sort of thing," he replied. "I can't say too much about it, but you're here for a really important reason. Mainiac97, person from another world, you must endure the darkness. You must fight it….there will be so much agony….but, at the end of the path, there is a dazzling end…..embrace it….beware the man of brown and green….there is something on your back!"

I heard it, once again. But, this time, it felt more powerful. Every time I felt this strange object on my back, it grew stronger. I could feel its weight this time….the clicking and hissing was louder and now accompanied by a strange beeping sound. Ilookgood99 smiled, and, when I blinked, was gone. I looked in my hand, and saw a familiar bomb that always accompanied Ilookgood99. It exploded, and I sank into the fog of visions once again.

_Master Samuel crinkled his nose. He was in a narrow corridor, and the walls were made of green sludge and decomposed creatures. It was sickening. The black fly sat near him, repairing his wrecked sky stick. However unpleasant the third floor was, he'd have to endure it, because he needed to get to the last floor. He saw the mysterious cloaked man walking towards him, accompanied by somebody else._

"_Hello, master," the mysterious cloaked man said._

"_Hello…." Master Samuel replied. The other man coughed. The cloaked man then went straight to the point._

"_Sir, say hello to Mort, leader of the vampire tribe upstairs," the cloaked man announced. "He is furious of the teams upstairs, due to their use of garlic. He wishes to join us." Master Samuel considered this request._

"_You know, I'll be glad to help you, as long as I get two privileges-one, I get to follow your growing army around, and two, I get to choose my own prey." Master Samuel considered this for a second, and nodded._

"_Fine, you may join us, but you realise, you cannot double-cross us. Trust me, you'll sorely regret it," Master Samuel said. Mort nodded. The black fly then sat up._

"_It's fixed!" he announced, and they set off._

I awoke soon, sweating. When I went back, I saw the others were awake, and looking worried.

"Where were you?" osrie1 demanded. I explained what had happened, and they gasped.

"Mort has joined them?" Amy11 cried. I nodded grimly.

The exploration team decided to stay a bit. Capablanca was going to stay there to keep guard, the same way Clayguy7 stayed at the gift of peace. Though, for some reason, he wasn't there when Capablanca went past…..

The exploration team set off for the third floor. An hour later, Sin and Creator decided to make a move on. Capablanca sat up, and stretched. At least he wouldn't have a shortage of food. But then, he heard a voice that suddenly made him ravenous.

"Do my eyes deceive me?" a man's voice said. "Food has never wandered so willingly into my midst…."

"Are you a vampire?" Capablanca asked shakily, panicking.

"No, I am not a vampire. I am a horseman. I wonder if you've met my brother War yet. My name is Famine, and I am hungry-if you don't shift, you might be my next meal," the voice rasped. Capablanca screamed as a bony, yellowing hand grabbed his ankle, and pulled him in. Was Capablanca going to end up a meal?


	47. Chapter 47: Madrey1's Revenge

_**Chapter 47: Madrey1's Revenge**_

I vomited, for the fifth time. Only ten minutes ago, had the exploration team entered the gooey presence of the third floor. It absolutely horrific-it smelt awful, for a start. The walls were coated with a thick, glutinous, green slime. There were decomposed animals, and even tentacles coming from them. The gates on this floor had tentacles growing from the top, and when I smashed it apart with Silverlight, I had to pinch my nose, because an awful smell hit the air. It was called the pit of pestilence for a good reason-I felt really sick just standing here.

Amy11 screamed as a lump of green slime fell on her shoulder. She scraped it off, retching. Osrie1 kept trying to cast water strike at the walls, to wipe some of the green slime off, only succeeding in causing more of the stuff to fall from the ceilings. I knew that evil forces were plotting away not too far from here….Mort, according to my vision/dream, had joined them.

Mort was the leader of a vampire tribe that had been living upstairs, until now. I'd spent the last few hours running from them, only to scare them away with a massive show of anger. I was secretly terrified of the vampires-if they bit me, just once, I could die and come back as one. Haldir6 said the only way, traditionally, to kill a vampire, is either by ripping it apart, or putting a steak through its heart. I didn't understand, however, how a piece of meat could kill a vampire, and when I asked Haldir6 about it, he just laughed.

We continued trudging through the filth. Just ahead, I saw another gate. It gave me a mocking look with its red eyes as I approached.

"I'm not opening for you," he said coldly. I gave him a quick, warm smile, before smashing him to bits with my hammer. We stepped over the wreckage, and continued.

Ahead, I saw what looked like a lake of slime. In the lake, there were skeletons floating, and in the middle I saw the remains of a wrecked, small wooden boat. I was about to continue, when I heard a roaring. I swung around.

Green, bull-like beasts surrounded us. Their eyes were a sickly green, with a shade of red, to suggest they were possessed. Roaring furiously, they stamped their filthy green hooves, before walking slowly towards us. One of them used what looked like a white spray on me. I suddenly felt all dizzy and disorientated. I spun around groaning, not telling Osrie1 from Haldir6. I massive blow to my back brought me back to earth with a bang. It was the green, bull-like creature, hitting me with its horns. They all ran towards me. I tried to dodge, but no luck. One smashed into me, and sent me flying into another one. I groped the handle of Silverlight, and was about to stick it into one of them, but it was knocked out of my hand. Amy11 grabbed it for me. Haldir6 slit one of their throats, and green blood came spurting out. I retched, and was bowled over by another one. I was quicker this time-I grabbed Silverlight, and pointed it in front of me. A green bull ran right into it, and it went right through his brain. He roared, collapsed, and transformed into bones and a small pile of cash.

After ten minutes, we were surrounded by the dead bodies of green bulls. After we'd buried all the bones, we continued trudging around this green lake.

I heard loud, crunching footsteps from behind us. I swung around, and was greeted with a fist to the jaw. Coughing up blood, I fell backwards, into a pile of green crap. I sat up, and saw my attacker.

It was Madrey1. I gasped with horror-he'd changed his look altogether now. He still had beetle-black eyes and the same wicked grin, but he'd obviously been working out. He was twice as strong and muscled as he was the last time I saw hi, that day at the Easter party. Instead of wearing his dragon armour, he wore full Guthan's. He still had his strange orange shield (the same one Duke Horacio and Sir Vant had) and his dragon sword, though. Phantom, still clad in silky black clothes, stepped from seemingly nowhere.

"Hello, noob," he said coldly. "Remember me? You humiliated me and Phantom here by sheer luck. Since then, I've been completely remodelling myself. I've made myself stronger. I scrapped my old tin can armour, and now I've got even better armour. My only ambition has been to completely wreck you lot. I'm going to start with you," he sneered, pointing at Amy11. He stepped towards her, and she backed off, whimpering.

"NO!" I yelled. I jumped towards madrey1, planning to pull off his helmet and throw it in the green slime lake (like I'd done previously with different helmets). He was too quick for me, though-I saw on the floor with a massive stab mark in my side. Madrey1 snorted.

"This'll be too easy," he chortled, and he grabbed my leg. He threw me up in the air, caught me by the arm, and swung me around at full speed. I felt all the bones in my arm snap, and I roared with pain. After ten seconds of swinging, he threw me into the green water.

I sunk into the putrid water. The water was too thick and slimy to swim in-and it smelt awful. I struggled to try and get to the top, my oxygen running out. My mind was numb, I couldn't think, I was drowning…. And, meanwhile, up the top, madrey1 was laughing like Christmas has come early.

Haldir6 stepped up to madrey1. "You, sir, are a bastard," Haldir6 snarled, and punched Madrey1 full out on the nose. Blood dripped down madrey1's face as his nose snapped. He stumbled back, and sent his sword flying through haldir6's shoulder. Haldir6 yelled with pain. He pulled out the sword, and noticed me struggling with life at the bottom of the slime pool. He dived in, grabbed my arm, and forced me to the top.

We both collapsed on try ground, covered from head to toe with slime, coughing up the stuff. I retched, and fell back, breathing in pure air. Madrey1 stepped up to us two, while Phantom took on osrie1 and Amy11.

"So, the slime lake failed to drown you, huh?" Madrey1 bellowed. "Let me take care of it for you, nice and easy." He ran towards me, and punched me on the jaw. It hit, and I was sent flying into the air. I gasped for air as madrey1 sent his fist into my skull. Stars appeared on my eyes. Madrey1 then smashed his shield into me. I was pounded into the ground.

Pain filled my body like a poisonous gas. My battered and bruised body lay there at an odd angle. Madrey1 chuckled lightly. Haldir6 elbowed him in the face, and they fell back in a wrestle. I tried, and failed, to get up.

Meanwhile, osrie1 ran up to Phantom, and sent a fire strike at him. Phantom deflected it with a shadow spell. Amy11 tried to insert her dagger through his neck, but he swiftly dodged, and gave her an uppercut in the chin. Osrie1 ran towards him, intent on bowling him over, but he just grabbed osrie1's head, and sent him flying into Amy11. Madrey1 managed to wrestle Haldir6 to the floor, and knock him out with his shield.

"Right, we'd better make a move on if we want to beat these losers and Master Samuel to the final reward. Do not worry about these losers-if they don't die by themselves, the scorpions will have them for supper," Madrey1 chuckled. Phantom took madrey1's arm, and with a puff of smoke, they were gone.

I tried, and failed again, to sit up. One of my lungs felt punctured. I looked feebly to the side. Amy11 and osrie1 lay in a pile, moaning. Haldir6 was unconscious. I was blacking out…someone was walking up to me….a man….in a white uniform…I heard….a roar….flames….blackness…..


	48. Chapter 48: A Box of Health

_**Chapter 48: The Box of Health**_

_By the gift of peace, Clayguy7 was struggling against the blade of War._

_Meanwhile, downstairs, Capablanca was having a hard time against the appetite of Famine._

I moaned as I sat up. My vision was so blurry I couldn't make out my surroundings. My body felt extremely weak, achy and painful. My head was lurching backwards and forwards. I stumbled around until I hit a wall, and I emptied the contents of my stomach by it. Then I could see a little clearer.

I was still in the pit of pestilence, that much I was certain of. The walls were, as usual, covered with horrible, disgusting green slime. The ground felt soft and clean under my hands, not dirty and covered with green crap. I suddenly remembered everything. I remembered Madrey1 beating me up, nearly drowning me, and leaving me to die. And I vaguely remembered a man in white robes walking towards me before I blacked out….

That's when I noticed where I was. I was standing near the box of health, the reward for the pit of pestilence. It was a solid metal blue box with a red metal cross on it. I stood up, and I saw over a dozen pair of eyes looking up at me. All three of the teams (except Clayguy7 and Capablanca, of course) were there. Haldir6, Osrie1 and Amy11 were wide awake. Amy11 and osrie1 had a few plasters and bandages, but haldir6 was still pretty badly beaten up. He had two black eyes, and by the looks of all the bandages around his chest, he'd broken several ribs. Haru Axe-man stood up, and went up to me.

"You OK?" he asked me kindly. I nodded in reply. "You'd better take the reward." I thanked him.

"Who saved us, by the way?" I asked him. He smiled.

"You haven't met him yet?" Haru asked. I shook my head. "He didn't say much. He rescued you lot, came to us, informed the remaining support team, and we all gathered here."

"Who was he though?" I asked, nonplussed. Haru shook his head sadly.

"I don't know. He never told us. He wore long, white robes; he had a god sword, and rode you here on a massive white dragon." I gasped. I knew the man-he'd saved my life twice before. The first time, he got his dragon to roast the rats when they invaded Tutorial Island. The second time, he killed the three-headed dragon in Lumbridge. He was always so mysterious-I had suspicions he had something to do with the Glory Troopers. I turned to Aubury.

"Aubury, do you know this man?" I asked. Aubury furrowed his brow.

"I'm not the true leader of the Glory Troopers," he said. "He is. He tries his best to reverse the damage that the darkness is causing. So far, the evil effect that is going on in the world is that animals are becoming possessed. Master Samuel and his cronies are plotting something huge, plus when people die they stay that way. The wilderness has become so dangerous anyone that goes in never comes back out. That man, our real leader, tries to save the world by stopping disasters in their tracks. If I recall, he slew the three-headed dragon from Lumbridge, and stopped the Tutorial Island rat invasion. He and that dragon are true partners-they're so closely bonded that they even share the same thoughts. Nobody knows his true name, not even me." I nodded.

I opened the box of health. Inside, I saw three large crates. On top of the crates, there was another half staff. I picked it up, and took out the half staff from my bag that I found upstairs. As if they were two attracting magnets, they clicked together perfectly. I could easily take a wild guess what was going to be the final reward.

I opened the first crate using the rusty metal hinge. It was full to the brim with money. I emptied all the money on the floor, and put the now empty box in the box of health. I shared the money out among everyone. I then opened the second box, and the delicious smell of different fruits hit my nose. I also shared the fruit out, and what I had for myself was a dozen bananas, ten apples, four papayas, and two watermelons. I ate the lot ravenously, except for a watermelon and three bananas, which I decided to keep.

The third crate was full of bottles of health tonic. I also shared this, but I was left with almost thirty bottles for myself! That was enough to stock my first aid kit for months!

I stocked all my supplies except for one bottle. I gulped down half of it, and pocketed it for use in the last floor of the stronghold. I felt much better-the pain was almost entirely gone. I then remembered my weapons belt and my clothes-they should be covered with slime after I nearly drowned in that lake of green goo! I asked Osrie1 about it, and he replied that he, Aubury and Haru washed me down with Aubury's home-made spell, 'Burst of Water'. It wasn't a water attack-it caused a jet of pure, crystal-clear water to spray on the person who cast it.

After half an hour of nothing but resting, soaking up the glorious light coming from the ceiling, I decided to make a move on. I felt healthy and full of energy again-probably because of the amount of healing tonic I took.

"Who here feels too sick to continue?" Aubury asked 6, who'd returned to consciousness, put his hand up weakly. Aubury smiled. "I'll teleport you to the surface." He muttered some words under his breath, and threw a ball of purple energy at Haldir6, who was teleported to the surface.

"The attack team will go ahead. Creator, can you stay watch? Sin can join the exploration team," Aubury said. Creator and Sin nodded. Creator went over to the box of health, munching on a pineapple, while Sin ran over to us. I smiled warmly at him.

Aubury, Haru, Mark and Slinky went down the ladder. The others started talking among themselves, apart from Amy11. She went up to me shyly.

"You feeling OK?" I asked casually. She nodded.

"You?" she replied. I nodded too. "You were so brave downstairs, trying to take on Madrey1. He's gotten stronger, hasn't he?" I grabbed the conversation topic as firmly as I could. We started talking about the gruesome things we would do to him if madrey1 was a voodoo doll. I noticed that Amy11 had held my hand right through the conversation. I gave it a reassuring squeeze.

After another ten minutes, I stood on top of the box of health so everyone could see me. "Right, Creator can stay here. For the rest of us, we should get going." They all nodded in agreement, and we climbed down the ladder, into the sepulchre of death.

Creator finished his delicious, juicy, plump orange. He used a Fire Strike spell on the peel to burn it to nothing. A sweet scent filled the air, but for some reason it disappeared, and was replaced with a rancid stench. He heard a giggle.

"Who's there?" Creator demanded, pinching his nose. The voice giggled again.

"I, sir, am the disease that makes this place nice," the person giggled. Creator saw a most horrible being walk out of the shadows in which he was hiding. He heard the snort of a horse behind him. "But, to make it easier for you, call me…..Pestilence." Creator screamed as enormous, steel, bulbous mace came from nowhere, to infect him with the disease of pestilence.


	49. Chapter 49: Enter the Explorer!

_**Chapter 49: Enter the Explorer**_

I nearly vomited when I saw the final floor after climbing down the ladder.

The walls were dripping with blood. Skulls were jammed onto the walls, and they all seemed to be looking at me. Skeletons littered the floor, and bloodstains were everywhere. Blood dripped from the ceiling. I could almost taste the death in the air.

"Well, here we are," osrie1 said with a hint of uncertainty in his voice. "This is the sepulchre of death." The awkward silence continued on for minutes.

"We should make a move on," I suggested. The rest all nodded, and we walked down the corridor.

We passed so many skeletons on the floor I lost count. The eyes in the skulls on the wall had a hint of red in them, and that red seemed to follow us. We arrived at a gate. The gate was constructed entirely out of bones, and the eyes this time were in the skull sat the top of the gate. I shuddered to think about how many people were killed to make all the bones that surrounded me.

"Welcome to the final floor," the gate sneered. "This is as far as you will go-I refuse to budge." I smiled at the gate, before smashing at it with my hammer. A small crack appeared in the gates' design work. The gate gave a loud, booming laugh.

"It'll take more then that to destroy me. I am, after all, on the final floor," the gate laughed. Osrie1 took out his staff, Sin took out his white sword, and Amy11 took out her dagger. We ran towards the gate, yelling with rage. The gate swore as it was smashed to pieces. Shards of bone flew everywhere. We continued on, dusting our hands.

I was positive I could hear whispers and moans all around me. I trudged in the front, staring uncomfortably behind me. I was sure I saw a flicker of darkness from behind me….

Since I wasn't watching where I was going, I tripped over something, and landed nose-first in the filthy ground. I sat up, rubbed my nose, and looked down.

I'd tripped over a body. The body was still alive, by the looks of it. He was a male in tan explorer's clothes, like Tom and Johnny. Unlike Tom and Johnny, he had pretty tanned skin. He had a steel sword in his belt, and attached to his bag pack, he had a most extraordinary weapon-it was a piece of wood, with a chain attached. On the other end of the chain, there was a blade. He groaned, and woke up, rubbing his eyes.

"Where am I….?" he asked himself slowly, then realisation hit him. He jumped up, gasping for breath. I steadied him.

"There, there," I said soothingly. He looked at me, confused. "What's you're name?"

"My name is Aaron," he answered, sounding worried.

"How did you end up here, unconscious?" I asked.

"Well, it started off in the catacomb of famine," he replied. "I and my exploration partners, Tom and John, were going through, when we were attacked by something. I managed to escaped, but Tom and Johnny weren't so lucky." He shivered, and then continued.

"I went back to look for them. Really, I did. But I couldn't find them. I was lost. In the end, I found my way to the grain of plenty, but the short time in which I was lost will haunt me forever," he said with regret in his voice. I patted him on the back reassuringly. "I went through the pit of pestilence, so depressed I didn't even notice the smell. But, when I went as far as here, something completely different attacked me."

"What was it?" I asked curiously, getting frightened.

"I don't remember much. All I remember is that they seemed to come from the floor," he answered.

"Would you like to join us?" Sin asked kindly. He nodded gratefully. We continued on our journey through the sepulchre of death with Aaron tagging along with us.

With combined effort, we smashed down another gate of bones. We got a massive shock here-the place was bursting with skeletons. Their bodies clanked as they walked around, and their red eye sockets surveyed their surroundings.

"Right, let's sneak around these skeletons very quietly," I whispered, almost mouthed, to the others. I tiptoed into the area, keeping close to the walls, with the others following my lead. As I got to the other side, a skeleton spotted me, and started screeching, communicating somehow with the others. We were bombarded with screeches, and the skeletons ran towards us.

I took out my Easter hammer and smashed it into an incoming skeleton. The skeleton collapsed into pieces, but another five ran towards me. I swung my hammer around, knocking their skulls off. They weren't fazed, because they were still trying to hit me with their bony fists.

"Osrie1!" I bellowed. "Can you cast the crumble of the undead?"

"I've just gotten to the level necessary, but I can't cast it properly!" he shouted back over the screeches. "If I try, goodness knows what will happen!"

"Try" I screamed, getting impatient. He breathed slowly.

"CRUMBLE OF THE UNDEAD!" he bellowed, and a massive brown explosion collapsed half the skeletons. The remaining ones screeched, and seemed to get angrier, of possible.

We continued fighting until there was only six left. I gasped, exhausted, and collapsed on the floor, covered with cuts and bruises. Osrie1 was gasping in a corner, Sin was wiping the grunge off his sword, and Amy11 was sitting down, breathing heavily. The remaining skeletons cornered poor Aaron. He'd been just standing there while we took out the rest, and he still seemed fairly calm. He took out the strange weapon that was on his bag, the piece of wood with a chain attached, with a blade on the other end. He swung this weapon around his head, holding the wooden part. The blade smashed through the skeletons. Shards of bone flew everywhere, and the skeletons were no more.

We applauded Aaron. I was pretty impressed. He wasn't a very high level-only level 27, like me. On the first floor, I was level 25-figthing through unpleasant creatures such as zombies, dark wizards, wolves, vampires, flesh crawlers, green bulls, skeletons, and Madrey1 had a positive impact on my combat level. My defence, strength and attack levels were 21-I had a while to wait before I could use my stone sword I'd won while fighting Gunther the Brave.

We continued through. I kept hearing whispers and such from around us. I was growing worried that something was stalking us. Thinking of vampires, I turned around to Aaron.

"What's the name of that weapon you use?" I asked him. He grimaced at me.

I don't really know," he admitted. "I just call it the Blade-I got it while exploring in a land called Morytania. That place I never want to go to again-it is under the complete rule of vampires. I especially hate the town of Canafis." I nodded, grimacing also. I hated vampires.

I was afraid on this floor. I kept hearing whispers in my ear, but I also felt safe, in the presence of this fairly powerful explorer Aaron.


	50. Chapter 50: An Imprint of the Departed

_**Chapter 50: Imprints of the Departed**_

I smiled thankfully towards Aaron, our new addition to the team. He'd used his amazing weapon, the Blade, to smash down yet another gate of bones. I don't think we would have gotten to where we are so quickly without him. He was, truly, a gate's worst nightmare.

This floor was having a very negative effect on me; I felt like I was going to drop dead at any moment. I felt sick even looking at the walls. We were getting closer to the bowels of this floor. Only ten minutes ago we battled a phalanx of skeletons with Aaron's help, and we'd only just escaped from several zombies. These creatures were stronger then ever before- what were we going to encounter next?!

In front of us there was a pretty long corridor, with a door staring at us from the distance, I moaned. I was already so exhausted I struggled to move, let alone jog to keep up with the others, who looked equally tired. In the end, my tired feet screamed no more. I collapsed on the cold, hard ground. The others went back, concern deep in their eyes.

"I think it is about time we all had a rest," Sin admitted, sitting down cross-legged. I sighed, and dived in my bag for yet another meat sandwich. I was feeling very depressed, and I felt that the floor was having this effect on me. Even the air I breathed seemed to suck happiness, optimism, and life out of me. My heart sunk even deeper when I saw there was no meat sandwiches left.

"We're almost there," Sin said. "If I remember correctly from my previous encounters on this floor, we only have a few corridors and open spaces before we get to the cradle of life." That was my only beacon of hope here-the cradle of life. There, I had access to the safe world above. There, I could access several rewards beyond my wildest dreams.

That thought lit up my heart, and I jumped up, ready for more hiking. Everyone rested for another five minutes, and we set off.

There was something that was bothering and worrying me-I kept hearing whispering from a strange source. I kept seeing flickers of darkness from the corner of my eye. Every time we smashed down a gate, I half-expected some zombie or demon to pop up and slaughter us mercilessly. I was a higher level, but that didn't mean I could beat anything.

Another thing I noticed was even the lighting seemed to be taking the theme of the floor. On the first floor, there were torches attached to black, metal rusty brackets. On the second floor, single candles were put into the walls, and even they looked starved. On the third floor, an ominous green glow illuminated the place, coming from the walls. On this floor, the only light was coming from the eyes of the skulls, giving the entire place an awful creepy red glow.

We turned a corner, and Ilookgood99 stood there. He smiled at us.

"So, you've made it," he said conversationally. "This floor is pretty hard, but it'll get harder. I saw Master Samuel ahead, and he seems pretty angry. Mainiac97, infinite darkness, thing on your back, dazzling end, etc, etc, but I still stand by what I said before-beware the man of brown and green. Oh, by the way, watch the shadows," he said, and before I could retort, he was gone.

As we continued, I thought about what he had said, very confused. I wish he would stop being so cryptic. Why did he know? What was he trying to tell me? What did it all mean? I understood what he meant by the thing on my back, because I'd felt it at least fifty times before, but what was this darkness that he talked of? It could be a trick, or a joke, but it didn't seem that way to me-the look his eyes gave me was a look of truth and understanding. Who was this man of brown and green? Also, what was the 'dazzling end'? All these questions, and more, zoomed around my head like runaway hares.

We smashed down another reluctant gate, and we were in a clearing. Like very other clearing we'd encountered, this one had skeletons all over the floor. All of a sudden, something tripped me over. Everyone then went on full alert-they all took out weapons.

I jumped up, and got Silverlight at the ready. I heard more whispering. Then, suddenly, flickers of darkness went everywhere. A massive black hand shot from the ground, and scooped Amy11 up. Amy11 let out a piercing shriek. A black, slightly see-through chain fell from the roof of the cave, and Amy11 was wrapped in it, left dangling from the ceiling. Then, black, transparent spikes came up from the ground. Our shadows disappeared. I understood what Ilookgood99 meant now-watch your shadows. I gulped, holding onto Silverlight tighter as if it was my life.

"Amy!" I cried, unshed tears stinging my eyes. "Don't worry, I will save you!" A distant cackle made me jump out of my skin. I noticed black figures come from the walls in droves. I looked at them closely.

They were human figures standing there. They were completely black, but slightly transparent. They looked like extremely evil ghosts. Here were at least twenty surrounding us. They were in their early level 100s. I could hear moaning sounds coming from their bodies. Sin gasped.

"Shades!" he screamed. I didn't like the sound of the word. "They're very evil spirits that haunt the earth," he explained to the rest of us nonplussed people. "They're like ghosts, but a lot more advanced-dead, but not quite gone. They are imprints of the departed." I shuddered, and tears began to fall freely down my cheeks-these terrifying creatures, which pumped fear into my heart, were dangling Amy11 above shady spikes! I couldn't comprehend my situation.

The biggest one, most probably the chief, who was level 190, stepped up to me. Its feet made no sound whatsoever on the ground.

"Humans," it croaked. "You must join us…..we cannot allow humans leave our presences…..join…" I backed off. I swung Silverlight into his chest. A small white mark was made, and he lost three hit points. The white mark disappeared.

"Are you possessed by Master Samuel?" I asked, shaking. The head shade laughed, or did a sound that sounded like laughing.

"Humans cannot possess our kind….we are free….to roam the earth..." he replied in the same croaky whisper. "You must now die….." They all approached us.

"Crumble of the undead!" Osrie1 roared. Nothing happened. He stared into his bag, and slapped his head. "Damn! I'm out of chaos runes!" My heart sunk even deeper, if possible, at this news. The only thing that possibly could have helped us beat these shades was gone. Pop.

We tried, and failed, to fight. Even Aaron's Blade didn't cause good damage to them! They continued towards us, desperately trying to choke us to death. Their touch was like touching an ice sculpture. They were too strong. I shuddered at the thought of what they would be like if they _were_ possessed. I saw no escape to the hopeless situation. Amy1 was still hanging from the chain, being lowered very slowly to the spikes below….

I felt a vibrating in my pocket-it was vaguely familiar. It was the skull half. This time, though, there was something bigger vibrating in my bag. Like what happened last time, I felt some strange anger building up inside me. I felt so angry, I was sure lava and steam was pouring from my ears. Energy filled every single pore in my body, and I felt so powerful. Silverlight started to glow in my hand. I punched a nearby shade, letting off some of my new rage. It was taking over my body, and clouding my mind with wicked thoughts. All that mattered to me right now was ripping apart these shades, and saving Amy11.

A gaping hole, glowing white, burst from the shade. It stumbled back, and started to scream with pain. A blinding white light surrounded him, and when it cleared, he was gone.

I swung Silverlight around, and several shades had their bodies ripped apart by rage. A new power had overtaken me. I watched at the head shade moaned in what sounded like anger, and, with a wave of his hand, the chain binding Amy11 disappeared.

Fear flooded my body, nearly drowning out my anger. I ran forward with all my might, and jumped up. Just as a screaming Amy11 was about to hit the large spikes, I grabbed her around the waist, and rolled the other side. She lay on the floor, gasping for breath. I stepped towards the head shade. It laughed at me-hard, wheezy chuckles. I snarled with rage. I punched it in the face. It stumbled back.

"You irksome bug! How dare you!" it ranted, running forward. My rage pumped inside my chest, strengthening me. I slammed my fist into it again. It lost quite a few hit points. Roaring with rage, I grabbed Silverlight, and swung it towards the shade. A massive, white, glowing mark spread from its shoulder to its waist. It moaned with agony. The other shades ran towards me, howling.

"No!" the chief croaked, and the others backed off. I geld Silverlight above its head, staring coldly. "Please! I crave composition! Leave us be!" I smiled nastily towards him.

"I don't think so," I whispered, and slammed Silverlight through its body. It screeched, and light burst from every pore of its body. With a final scream, it collapsed into itself, transforming into nothing.

In my angry state, the others were easy. A few waves of Silverlight and a punch in the right place, and the shades were gone. All that remained were black robes (Sin identified them as shade robes, robes which give you an ominous, shadowy effect and make you slightly transparent), piled together. I picked up a top and a bottom, and the others picked up sets at their own will. I put mine in my bag.

I calmed down. The skull half and the skull staff had a very negative effect on me. They seemed to channel my rage and tripled my strength. I was scared of myself-I was turning into a monster! There was a small part of my brain that openly accepted the newfound, partially evil strength.

I walked towards Amy11, smiling warmly but she stepped back, fear in her eyes. I stopped, and compunction reared its ugly head. Tears sprung to the corners of my eyes.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered. Amy11 approached me, smiling.

"Don't worry," she purred. "I don't care."

Feeling highly embarrassed, guilt still weighing down my mind like an unmoveable rock, we continued through the sepulchre of death, prepared for what we would encounter.

Meanwhile….

Clayguy7, Creator and Capablanca sat by the cradle of life, tied together with rope and cotton wool in their mouths. Three men stood behind them, smiling unpleasantly, their faces clouded by shadow. Three horses grazed in a corner, malice in their eyes.

"Well, what do we have here?" a voice gasped from the darkness from the other side of the room. "Intruders? We'll wait for the others to come, and then we'll strike….."


	51. Chapter 51: Showdown in the Stronghold

_**Chapter 51: Showdown in the Stronghold**_

I held my new shade robes thoughtfully. They felt like air in my hands, and looked slightly transparent. They felt like a good gust of wind would pick them up and scatter them into the atmosphere.

We were so close to arriving at the cradle of light I could almost taste it. I would feel so happy arriving at the final reward. We'd endured so much on this floor, from vampires to shades. There was also a little bit of nervousness in the mix-some people called the 'horsemen' seemed to be on the loose in the stronghold. I didn't know who or what the four horsemen were, but they didn't sound good.

We turned a corner, half-expecting some shades or a zombie to burst out the floor and slaughter us. What we saw instead was the entire attack team huddled up together, their ears poking out, as if they were trying to eavesdrop on something. Amy11 opened her mouth, but the attack team put their fingers to their lips. Haru motioned for us to join them. As I approached, I heard the slight buzz of chatter from behind the wall. There was a corner nearby leading into yet another opening.

"So, boss, how did your trip to here go?" the very familiar voice of the black fly sang. I heard several cackles.

"Not very well," the unpleasant, oily voice of Master Samuel replied conversationally. "I was attacked by several enraged shades. Those beasts couldn't be possessed! I had to distract them by using a small army of skeletons."

"Where's James?" another voice chipped in. I recognised the voice as the mysterious cloaked man.

"James has gone to the surface," Master Samuel replied curtly. "Somebody from the gang of good-doers was injured, and went back up. James has gone to…..greet that hapless person." Everyone in the clearing laughed. It sounded like Master Samuel had a lot of friends there.

Just then, Slinky sneezed.

I heard a gasp from the clearing. The black fly snickered.

"It looks like we have company," the black fly said, chuckling. I heard several knuckles crack.

"Very well," Master Samuel said, in a very unpleasant tone. What happened next nearly killed me.

There was a loud explosion, and the entire wall collapsed. I jumped out of the way to avoid being crushed by hundreds of skulls and galleons of blood. What I saw was Master Samuel, with the mysterious cloaked man and Mort at his sides, with the black fly hovering above him, and around thirty dark wizards and several dozen possessed ghosts, skeletons, and ankous behind him. Fear filled my lungs like a poisonous gas. Master Samuel looked as terrifying as ever, with his red robes and his evil aura.

I counted how many we had on our side. I came up with nine. It included me, Osrie1, Amy11, Sin, Aaron, Haru, Mark, Slinky and Aubury. How many did they have? I tried to count, but lost count.

Master Samuel gave me a vainglorious smile. He made a large movement with his hands, and the entire area of walls just collapsed. Skulls and droplets of blood flew everywhere, like some sort of sick, twisted storm. What remained looked like a massive arena. When the collapsing subsided, Master Samuel cackled. Tension hung in the air like a reluctant bat.

It all started with a bang. I meant that literally, a bang. Some dark wizard, in his youth, threw a blast of fire at us. It hit Haru. I made my own assumption as to what would happen next. I was right. I was pretty sure _that_ dark wizard wasn't going to see the light of the sun again. I chuckled at my own sarcastic joke.

We charged forward, Haru in the lead, his blonde hair still singed. Master Samuel's smile drooped a little. He snarled, and jumped up in the air. Black light started coming from him. The entire floor dimmed a little.

"Fine," he growled under his breath. "You want a fight? I'LL GIVE YOU A FIGHT!" The dark wizards below him roared in agreement, and ran forward to greet us.

We all sunk waist-deep into our battle styles. Haru smashed his axe into several nearby enemies, while Aaron swung his massive blade around, beheading foes.

I looked up at Aaron. He was a very brave and powerful man. He was also a deep riddle, wrapped up in an enigma. He'd suffered many things in his life, I could see that raging in his eyes as he fought. He hated his enemies with a great vengeance. His light-brown hair waved around as his blade sunk deep into the flesh of wizards, down to his shoulders. I'd failed to notice that when I'd met him previously. His taut muscles rippled under his explorer's suit.

I was caught by surprise as a huge blow hit me in the back, winding me. Gasping for breath, I swung around to see my attacker. Mort stood there, blood dripping from his fangs, staring at me with some type of relish.

"I thought that would knock you out, so I could feed on you while you were unconscious," he noted. "I don't mind eating my prey alive, though." I cringed in disgust, and swung Silverlight into his chest. It clanked against his rock-hard body. He snarled, and swung his fist into me. I was smashed back into a skeleton, which was thrown into Mark (who had the black fly at his feet, moaning), smashing into shards at hitting his granite armour.

I didn't know how to fight Mort. He was immortal. Every blow I did with anything, from Silverlight to my Easter hammer, did barely anything to him. He'd blown off most of my hit points already. I was panicking. I didn't want to die. There was so much to live for, so much to experience.

At that moment, doubt licked at my brain.

I wondered whether it was worth fighting evil if I was afraid of death. At some point in my life, I was guaranteed to die. It isn't worth the risk.

Then, I thought of my friends. Suffering because I was too scared to go out there and face my fears. Suffering at the hands of people like Madrey1. Suffering because of me.

I sniffed miserably. Crushing feelings of doom and misery filled me. My lungs were waterlogged with them. I had a very bad feeling about this-I felt it would end in death. Fighting Mort was impossible at my side of it. I could see the bloodlust in his eyes. His fists and pure strength was his sword. He swung around, smashing me with his hands. I was knocked to the floor again and again. He smiled, slightly bored, beating me down again and again. I was quickly losing hit points….

I tried to remember how I beat him last time. I was eating a meat sandwich at the time. But meat can't be it. I tried to push my memory further backwards, but nothing came to mind.

Then it clicked. Vampires must have some sort of allergy to the extra flavoured vegetable that was in my sandwich! I think it started with the letter G. I dodged another blow from Mort, and ran towards Aubury, who was fighting back three dark wizards with magic spells.

"Oh no, you don't!" Mort snarled, and he sped after me. Aubury saw him coming a second before he smashed into him; and cast a blast of fire at Mort. Mort paused for a fraction of a second, a look of pain frozen on his unnaturally beautiful face. I remembered the name of the vegetable-garlic, from my vision when Mort joined Master Samuel's group of evil-doers. I didn't need Aubury's help for that. But now I knew another one of their weaknesses, which was fire.

Mort yelled with pain, and, with a stroke of his hand, the flames were gone. Mort stared, terrified, at Aubury's staff. Aubury gave Mort a wicked grin. With a flash and a hiss, Mort was gone.

I breathed a sigh of relief. Mort was gone. Relief flooded me, and that was all I could feel as it sunk in. I had information Mort didn't want me to have, and now I knew how to defeat him. I felt in my pocket, and felt three things-first, a bottle of health tonic. I drank it in one gulp. Second, I felt the curious half skull. Third, there was a shell there-the shell of peace that I'd gotten on the first floor. It was supposed to make any situation calm and peaceful. I looked around me at the torture and war. It wasn't worth it. People were dying, people were going to die; it was time for peace to take over.

I was going to open the shell up and let out one of three charges of peace, when Master Samuel saw me. He clicked as to what I was doing instantly. Roaring, he jumped forward, and knocked me to the floor.

I gasped, winded. Master Samuel glared at me.

"Don't you dare open that shell!" he growled. "Bind of pain!" I dodged the spiky rope, and ran forward. I hit him across the head with my Easter hammer. He was pushed back a few feet, startled.

"I hope that gave you concussion!" I spat. He smiled, and, without warning, black thunder shot from his hand, and hit me in the foot. A massive black hole was made in my leather boot, and my foot was in agony. I struck him with Silverlight, glad he still didn't have the energy matrix of Delrith running through his bloodstream.

Everyone had stopped to watch us. Dark wizards ran to his aid, but he put up his hand to stop them.

"Let me handle this," he ordered calmly. The dark wizards stepped back, staring at me angrily.

That was when the fight really begun-I danced around like I was on hot coals as he shot dark thunder at my feet. One of my boots was burnt to ashes. I tried my best to hit him with a weapon, but I failed.

I did everything I could-I trapped myself inside a solid egg with my cape, but it didn't take long for a flurry of attacks to crack it open. I tried the trick emote I got last year, but it didn't scare anyone.

That reminded me. Halloween was approaching-the year had flown. I knew this because Haldir6 had contacted Aubury. He seemed to be in the middle of a fight himself. It must have been the war that had that effect on me. I didn't know how long we'd been under here, trapped like mice, fighting for our lives. I was distracted as a water strike hit me in the gut.

Just as I awaited yet another blow, Haru jumped into Master Samuel, knocking the pair of them over. I watched curiously as they wrestled.

I was just going to open the shell, when a blood-curdling screech came from the wrestling pair. I nearly vomited at the sight that I saw-Master Samuel's hand was missing. Blood lay on pools around the area, and I saw a grinning Haru holding something, his hands covered with shining blood.

I'd had enough. I opened up the shell. A pure, undiluted light came from the shell, illuminating the whole area. A peaceful look spread across everyone's faces. It was weird; almost scary-it was as if I was hypnotizing every single person in this area.

"We have what we need," Master Samuel sung-it was strange, since his hand was missing, and I wondered how much pain the shell was restricting. "We'll leave you alone." He clicked his fingers on his surviving hand, and the whole dark wizard legion marched off, their faces still twisted with peace.

The happy look disappeared from everyone who remained. Confusion spread on their faces like water, but it was drained away by comprehension. They all cheered and whooped me and Haru.

Of course, I was happy, but still-the looks of forced peace would haunt me forever. Peace was a good thing, but in the wrong situation it was terrifying. I still didn't feel like this was over-there was something only up ahead bigger, stronger and scarier then anything else I've ever seen.


	52. Chapter 52: The Four Horsemen

_**Chapter 52: The Four Horsemen**_

_Master Samuel screeched with rage. Those stupid do-gooders won again, by unfair means! Fuming, Master Samuel paced up and down, glaring at everyone in his midst. Mort, the black fly, the mysterious cloaked man, James, several dark wizard elders, and several members of the Black Guard stood together as a small crowd in the middle of the wilderness. They were in a stone circle. This one was a lot like the one near Varrock, except it was bigger, the stones were older, and instead of an altar containing a locked portal which led to the prison of a demon, there was a boiling cauldron containing an evil, mysterious potion._

_Seething, Master Samuel stared at everyone around him. They all looked apprehensive. In his good hand, Master Samuel held a skull with red, glowing eyes from the bottom of the stronghold of security. The other hand wasn't a hand any more-James had spent all night making a large, enchanted claw from steel, and putting it where Master Samuel's hand used to be. The claw was massive, sharp, and rusty from magic. It had the power to claw someone's brains out. Master Samuel still had control over it, since it was enchanted to be connected to the rest of his body, like a hand._

"_I'm disappointed in all of you. ALL OF YOU!" he screamed, spit flying everywhere. "You've all failed me in one way or another." He then started pacing around, and he stopped at James._

"_I'll start off with you, James!" Master Samuel spat. "You've done decent so far-you did very well in the brawl at the beginning. I'm also grateful for the claws-I'll make sure to use them to get my revenge on a particular Haru Axe-man. But, you disappointed me when sent up to head Haldir6 off-he defeated you, no matter how weak he was." A ripple of mutters and murmurs spread through the small crowd. Master Samuel put his hand up for silence. "Because you did well," Master Samuel continued. "You won't be punished." James sighed with relief. Master Samuel moved on to face the black fly, who was holding his sky-stick under his arm._

"_You've done very badly," Master Samuel said, glaring daggers at the black fly. "You've failed me in every aspect of the trip. Plus, I never planned to keep you for long-go now, before I vomit at the sight of you." The black fly spat at Master Samuel's feet._

"_I don't need you," the black fly hissed. "I have a clan of my own-we can take down Mainiac97 by ourselves." He pushed a button on his sky stick, and the machine started up with several mechanical beeps and a hiss. The black fly jumped on, and flew off into the distance._

_Cracking his knuckles, Master Samuel moved on to Mort. Mort's eyes bore into Master Samuels. Master Samuel shifted uncomfortably._

"_Mort," he began. "I am disappointed in you. I expected better off you, as a vampire. I expected you to tear Mainiac97's head off-instead, you just played around with him, and now he knows how to defeat you. I cannot allow someone with a weakness so obvious, and so easy to take advantage of to join us. You may now leave, and return to the second floor of the stronghold of security." Mort's nostrils flared._

"_Very well," he said. "You may wish me away, but I'm like a garden weed-you think I'm gone forever, but I'll return to haunt you. I will not return to the catacomb of famine, though. My species needs to feed, and now you've allowed that pleasure. It is like a drug to me-I want more. I will gather my coven, and we will go to the habitation of Falador. When the gang that released us arrives there, we will stalk them. I want revenge-something even more desirable then blood." At that, Mort walked into the shadows, and disappeared._

_Master Samuel left it there. He didn't desire to punish anyone else. Mort had that effect on people-he was very menacing, very creepy. He stepped towards the cauldron, which seemed to shiver, as if it knew what it was brewing. With one swift movement, Master Samuel threw the skull into the cauldron, where the contents bubbled, and turned from a dark purple to a blood-like scarlet._

I woke up, and screamed. We were sleeping on a pile of pillows and blankets Aaron usually kept with him-it was more comfortable then the bone-like dust of the sepulchre of death.

We were agonisingly close to the cradle of life. Once we were there, our troubles would end. But, there was an ominous glow in the back of my head-it was like a warning, as if there was something evil and menacing ahead.

Everyone woke up then, and when they saw it was me who made the noise, the sleepy confusion drained from their faces as if a plug had been pulled in their heads. Whenever I had a bad dream, it always meant that I'd seen something in my dream. It was known to everyone who knew me personally that I had an astounding ability to see the present-more commonly, what the evil side were doing.

I'd had several dreams like this before, so it never shocked me. I occasionally had visions, which seemed to occur because of little smoke-bombs Ilookgood99 gave me. My first one happened in Lumbridge, in Farmer Fred's house. The skies had mysteriously turned black, and a black bolt of lightning hit me in the head; it was obviously the work of Ilookgood99, who took advantage of my strange gift, trying to tell me something. I remembered that dream clearly-the black knight torturing the Herblore mage gruesomely. I shuddered.

I explained to everyone in the clearing what my dream contained. When I was finished, they stared at me, shock plastered all over their faces. Aubury cleared his throat.

"That isn't good," he whispered. "Master Samuel, in his rage of being defeated, has booted the black fly and Mort. Both of them obviously hate us very much, and have clans that they'll use to kill us. We have three enemies that are stalking us now; Master Samuel and his cronies, Mort and the vampires, and the black fly and his clan." I gulped at the truth in his words.

Aubury took out several body runes and a nature rune. "Clock of wisdom!" he yelled, and the time appeared on the floor. It was 9:30am.

Aubury left for ten minutes, and returned with armfuls of skulls. I gave him a confused look. He screamed, "Bones into bananas! Bones into peaches!" The pile of skulls transformed into fruit before my very eyes. I rubbed them. He smiled ruefully.

"Here is something extra to eat with your food," he explained. "I'm sorry I can't get anything better." We all accepted his offering of bananas and peaches, and ate them miserably.

We sat up, and continued once we were finished. Aaron collected his pillows and blankets, and put them back in his bag.

It didn't take long before we arrived at the cradle of life. We turned a corner, and were blinded by a pure, glorious light, coming from the ceiling. In the most pure part of the light, there was a baby's cradle. It stood, white and shining, twinkling in the light. I ran towards it, laughing, and relief flooded my body. It was over. But the ominous puddle screamed in protest. I should have listened to it, really.

Before I could go near the cradle, a massive, black, rusty chain came from the darkness, and went around my chest. It pulled, dragging me along, I screamed, and the others ran towards me. Before anything else could happen, massive ropes made from bones burst from the grounds. The chains let go of me, and the rope wrapped around my legs like an angry snake, gluing me to the floor. More ropes burst from the ceiling, and captured my hands, pulling me up as far as the ropes around my feet would allow. Then I heard a menacing laugh. Out of the shadows came a most horrible figure.

It was a man. This man had skin almost as pale as Mort's, and he was thin-so thin his bones were clearly visible against his skin. At the same time, though, he was so strong and muscled it intimidated me. He wore a rather short black cape, and grey clothes. He held a large, slightly rusty scythe, even larger and more dangerous then mine, which was at arm's length in my weapon belt. His eyes were a deep, dark red. He grinned, showing black, rotten teeth.

"Hello, Mainiac97," he drawled, looking rather bored. "Let me formally introduce myself-I am Death, of the four horsemen of the stronghold of security. I am the ruler of this floor, and I am ruler of the other three. I must admit, I am surprised you've made it this far. As you can see, a little bit of us has rubbed off on the floor we own. My floor is full of skulls and undead beasts-War's is ravaged by many wars creatures have had-Famine's is literally starved-and Pestilence's is full of disease. Nice try, though-I won't let what you have been doing to our home continue."

"What are you talking about?" I snapped, struggling against the ropes holding me. "I haven't done anything to your stupid stronghold!"

"Or so you say," he answered back. "The creatures which made the stronghold their home have become unnaturally restless. Caves are caving in. You are doing something, my friend. I am afraid we, as four brothers, must kill you, to put a stop to it."

Out of the shadows came a horse that looked uncannily like Death. Grey fur, red eyes, and very skinny. Yeah. Death jumped on the horse, which whinnied, and reared its unnaturally beautiful head. From the shadows, another three men came out, holding people in each of their arms, with look-alike horses behind them.

"Let me introduce my brothers. We were made by Zamorak, who also made these sacred halls for us," Death announced. "They are called War, Famine, and Pestilence."

War was leading. He dragged the unconscious form of Clayguy7 behind him. I felt a blow of mixed emotions-anger, hatred, worry, pity, and sadness, just to name a few. War wore normal armour, except it was three times bigger to match his massive, bulking figure, and it was black and rusty. He held a long, black, rusty, jagged sword. His horse was the same-black fur, very strong and elegant.

Famine was something different entirely. He held the struggling form of Capablanca in his arms. He wore brown furs, and there was a wild, hungry look in his eyes. He didn't look very strong-I couldn't see any muscles, but he definitely looked very fast. His teeth were jagged and yellow. He was really, _really_ thin. His horse had brown fur, and looked starved to death.

Pestilence was at the back, his hand holding firmly onto Creator's shoulder. Creator looked sick to the bone, and he was shivering. In Pestilence's other hand, he held a massive, bulbous, dirty mace. He wore green silk. Everything about him was green and sickly-his parchment-like skin, his face, even his horse. All of them, horses and horsemen, had red eyes. I also noticed they all wore black leather hoods.

Death laughed. "You've found your match, human," he hissed. A ripple of laughter went through the horsemen. The ropes binding me released. I stepped back, joining the others, who looked like how I felt-nervous, shaky, and panicked. The rest of the horsemen threw their prisoners towards us. Clayguy7 stirred slowly, and jumped up. After assessing the situation, he pulled out his clay sword, ready to fight the horsemen to the death.

As the horses walked towards us slowly, I looked around desperately, trying to think of a plan. I thought desperately-if we fought, we were NOT going to win, that much was obvious. I then considered the horses. They looked strong-if we, by some miracle, killed their masters, they would probably attack by themselves.

It then clicked. The horses. Horses liked eating. I bent down, opened up my bag, and found the amount of apples that we found in the grain of plenty. I picked up one, and threw it towards the ground by the horsemen. The horses hesitated for a second, staring at the apple. Death laughed.

"Nice try," he mused. "But it won't work. We've trained our horses too thoroughly. We captured the strongest horses, and trained them vigorously. They won't cave in to desire." He was right. The horses continued trotting menacingly towards us-except for Famine's. Famine's horse stared hungrily at the apple, ignoring everything else. Famine obviously never fed his horse often, so the horse would have the impression of looking like Famine. Famine slapped his horse angrily.

"Go, you stupid beast!" Famine yelled. The horse didn't like that. One bit. It showed how much of a free will those beasts had, I thought. The horse bucked Famine off, whinnying furiously. Famine, yelling, crashed into Pestilence. Pestilence was sent flying off his horse, by accident, letting go of his mace. The mace, by lucky chance, flew into War, and landed on the floor with a thump. War's face was mangled-the mace had gone straight through his brain. War collapsed on the ground, breathing his final breath.

Famine and Pestilence sat up, very, very angry. Pestilence picked up his mace, and went back on his horse, ready to charge. Famine had no such luck. Famine's horse was still very angry at him. He horse kicked Famine straight in the teeth. Famine fell back, yelling as half his jaw was smashed by the impact. Famine's horse reared its whole body, and attacked Famine violently. Famine had trained his horse to fight, but never told it who to fight. When the horse was finished with Famine, all you could see was a lump of flesh, bones and blood with four limbs. The horse whinnied again, and charged off, past us, and down the corridor. It was free. War's horse followed, leaving his master's body behind.

Death made a hissing sound. One apple had ended up killing two of his brothers! Death dismounted his horse, stepped towards the apple, picked it up, and crushed it with his hand. Juice and apple flesh went everywhere. He went back on his horse, and he grimaced at us.

"Now I'm angry," he whispered. His horse and Pestilence's horse whinnied, and charged forward. We all jumped out of the way. The horses skidded, turned around, and ran towards us again. Death slashed his scythe in my general direction. He missed. He slapped his horse, which stopped. Pestilence followed lead.

Death dismounted his horse, and ran towards us. His scythe didn't miss me this time. It nipped me in the shoulder. Excruciating pain filled that tiny nip-I screamed. The others glanced at me, worried and wary. The pain subsided, but I imagined what would have happened if it was more then a nip. Death smiled, joy in his expression. Pestilence jumped off his horse, and I had to duck to avoid the massive mace that nearly blew my head off.

"Let's get him first," Death hissed, pointing at me. They both ran towards me, grinning widely. An idea then struck me. I remembered destroying that vampire in my rage. It had taken care of the shades, too. Whenever I felt that angry, my half-skull piece vibrated, along with the bone staff in my bag.

My plan was formed. I dodged the blows of the horsemen, and ran towards the cradle. I didn't want all the rewards right now-there was only one thing I wanted. The cradle, believe it or not, seemed to understand that. When I pulled back the blanket, the first thing I saw was the other half-skull. I grabbed the bone staff from my bag and the half skull from my pocket. Death and pestilence were running towards me, grinning widely. This had to work…

I attached the skull pieces. They connected like magnets, and a fiery blue glow came from the eye sockets. I attached that to the staff. The result was a skull sceptre. The skull, now fully connected, opened its mouth. A large, shiny, silver blade came from it. Wow. It was a skull sceptre with style. I spun around to face my attackers. I didn't know if it was right to call it a sceptre any more.

The rage tingled in my veins, and this time I let it overpower me. Fury exploded inside me, and the blue glow from the skull's eye sockets turned red. Even though I couldn't see it happening, I knew that my eyes had turned red. Death struck me with his scythe. It glanced off my skin. I elbowed him out of the way, and I struck Pestilence with my sceptre in his heart. Thick, green, glutinous blood spurted out, and a blank look of shock spread on his face, before he collapsed, dead at last. His horse ran off to join the other free horses.

Death looked at me, with shock, disbelief, and fear in his eyes.

"H...h…how …." he choked.

"I quote from Haldir6 when I say this; you, sir, are a bastard!" I snarled. That made it that much easier for me. A quick strike to the throat, and it was done. The remaining horse ran away, free at last.

At seeing two dead bodies at my feet, the anger and power ebbed from my system quickly. There was a moment of silence. Then, I heard applause. Everyone was clapping at me for murder. These people were innocent-they never deserved what I dished out. They were just trying to protect their home from what they believed to be wrong-doers. I explained my feelings to all my friends, tears stinging at my eyes and threatening to overpower me. Aubury stepped forward.

"Don't worry about it," he reassured. "They were evil people, sent down here by Zamorak to cause pain to those of pure hearts. I could see that in their eyes. They couldn't care less about the stronghold-all they wanted was to see death." I couldn't escape the feeling that I had sunk to the same level as them, if not lower. This shadow of doubt was something you saw often down here. I put my skull sceptre in a slot on my belt, feeling very uneasy at the power it offered me.

Mark stepped towards the body of War. He picked up War's sword, and held it high. He was claiming the weapon which nearly killed us in cold blood. It would never have the same power it had with War, though, since it was made by him, for him. In the same fashion, Osrie1 claimed Death's scythe. I didn't want it or need it-I already had a scythe. That scythe would never cause the pain it caused again, though. I decided to claim Pestilence's mace. I would clean it before using it, though. I attached it to my belt. It wasn't as heavy as thought it was. That was the power of RuneScape.

We all rested, before pulling back the covers of the cradle of life, this time to accept the whole reward. We were filled with the familiar feeling of receiving a new emote. All of a sudden, a massive, shining, red and yellow shield flew in front of me. The same thing happened to the others. I counted all of the emotes I had. I had the trick emote from last Halloween, the freeze emote from Christmas, and the dragon-fire emote from New Year's Day, the 'all around the world in egg days' emote, and now the security emote. I also counted turning into an egg, and being trapped in a massive egg, as emotes. Oh and there was the 'zombie hand' emote too.

Another reward was, obviously, money. I shared it out among everyone. There were twenty-four experience lamps there. Doing the math, I gave two to everyone, and kept two for myself. At the bottom of the cradle there was a pair of red, spiky gloves, and a pair of brown, sturdy, spiky boots. I picked them up, and showed them to everyone around, offering it to any of my friends. I didn't feel like I deserved it.

"Oh, no, none of us can take that," Haru insisted. "You take them. You earned them." I accepted miserably. I lightened up after putting them on. I needed new boots after Master Samuel scorched my old ones. I dropped the remains of my old leather boots and my leather gloves on the floor, happy on using the new ones.

Behind the cradle of life, there was a brown, shiny ladder, which led to a large hole in the ceiling, big enough for a man to fit through. I looked up, and saw, at the end of a long passage, light. My heart already felt a little lighter at seeing daylight, at last. I whooped, and motioned for everyone to follow me. I took a final glance at the cradle of life and the dead bodies of the four horsemen, and began my long climb to the top.

The climb was a very long and uneventful one. I kept hitting my head on rocks, costing me several hit points. At long last, I reached the top of the ladder. It turned out the light was coming from a portal. I was in a small, cramped area, with very familiar grey rocks surrounding me. I was in the vault of war, somewhere. I had a very basic idea where the portal led to. I didn't feel like climbing down that ladder and working in reverse back to the entrance, so I decided to risk it. I jumped, head first, into the portal.

I landed, head first, on more grey rock. I moaned with pain, and sat up. I was in the clearing at the very start. It felt like months since I was here last. I sadly saw a pile of bones and bone dust, with a green book on the top of it nearby. I could still see bloodstains from the fight we had here, ages ago. I walked towards the ladder which led to the surface, feeling proper relief and happiness for the very first time in ages. I climbed up, and I saw daylight. Pure, proper daylight.

I felt the wind wash over my face. I stared around me, and saw barbarian village, with several curious barbarians staring at me. I was even happy to see them. I climbed up properly, and felt clean, fresh air for the first time in ages. Osrie1 came out next, then Amy11. At last. At long last. We were home. Not only that, Halloween was coming up. I couldn't contain my happiness, excitement and relief.

I jumped in the air, feeling victory at long last. The shadow of doubt was gone. We'd faced the thing which was causing it. We'd defeated it. But I kept having the feeling that our troubles were nowhere near gone……


	53. Chapter 53: Arachnophobia

_Happy Halloween 2009!**

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_**Chapter 53: Arachnophobia **_

"Don't you think you've had enough?" the bartender questioned me. I sighed, gulping down my eleventh beer.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," I admitted. I handed him the money to pay for the drinks, and set off.

It had been two weeks since we'd gotten out of the-I forced myself to think the name-stronghold of security. It had been a nightmare. I now knew how long we'd been down there- five days. Five days of solid trekking through four floors of horror led by merciless, evil horsemen. I fingered Pestilence's mace thoughtfully. I'd given it a wash, scrubbed it down, and made sure there was no trace of slime or filth on it.

I took off my weapon belt, and looked at all my weapons. I had my emergency steel sword, Silverlight, my scythe, a brand new iron dagger (the old one was destroyed by vampires), my Easter carrot hammer, my stone Barbarian hammer, and my new massive, bulbous mace. There was also an empty pouch that was used to contain my jewellery- my ghost-speak amulet, my amulet of defence, my Christmas ice amulet, and my lucky sapphire ring.

After reequipping my weapon belt, I decided to go for a walk. I was still depressed, thinking about the awful things that happened down there. I think I might be going towards permanent personality change. I killed so many down there; I saw so many disgusting things happen. We stopped Master Samuel carrying out his plans, but I wondered if it was worth the damage we caused to ourselves and others around us. I remembered, with a twinge of stinging remorse, Tom the explorer. I stepped casually out the Blue Moon Inn, looking up at the moon-shaped sign above me. I looked around. It was Halloween today, and tonight there would be trick-or-treating. Pumpkins, fake bats, and wooden, painted skeletons hung around Varrock. I trotted up the street, and just as I was about to pass the guards, Osrie1, Amy11, Capablanca, and Sin turned the corner that lead to Aubury's rune shop/the top secret Glory Trooper base. They greeted me cheerily.

Sin had spent most of his life living down in the Stronghold of Security, warning explorers to the danger ahead. Of course, he'd been to the surface several times, but he'd never properly observed the beauty of nature. He was flabbergasted as he went up with us. Aubury had permanently marked him as a member of the Glory Troopers, as well as Clayguy7, and Haldir6. Aaron, a surviving explorer that went down to the stronghold, and came up with us, didn't want to be marked as a Glory Trooper, however grateful he was towards us.

"Where are you going?" Osrie1 asked casually. He was wearing his warlock costume that he got last year, at Halloween. Amy11 was wearing a witch costume, the obvious female version of the costume. She looked really pretty in it. Capablanca wore his grim reaper hood, and he held a scythe. I couldn't force myself to look forward to Halloween-I was too shaken by the disturbing events in the stronghold. Nevertheless, I would go trick-or-treating, because I couldn't say no to free sweets.

"I'm going for a walk," I replied.

"Can we come?" they asked simultaneously. I nodded.

"Where are you going?" Amy11 asked.

"Just a stroll to Draynor, mainly to see if there's any event going on," I answered, bored. They nodded, and we set off.

I decided to use my shortcut that I discovered. You had to wander past the grain field, down the grassy hill, past the mine, and there were rocks in a line across the river Lum. When you hopped across those rocks, you reached a muddy hill, and when you climbed up that, you appeared by the house that the three-headed dragon had wrecked. I went down that route, the others following me. I appeared in Lumbridge.

I looked around at the city. It hadn't changed much since my days living here-the only difference was that it was more populated. People gathered in droves, chattering, trading, and sometimes even fighting. The stone walls still stood, sturdy as ever. Even more decorations surrounded me, hung up in between the buildings, on the buildings, and I could see some inside the buildings. I grimaced as I passed a decoration that looked disturbingly like Death of the four horsemen of the stronghold.

I walked casually past the shop, past Farmer Fred's infamous sheep farm, and past the windmill. I turned left at the turning, straight towards Draynor village, instead of taking the goblin-infested mud path.

Draynor Village was also in the Halloween mood. More decorations hung around me like bats. A massive wooden ghost was plastered on the wall of the Draynor bank. People that I passed in the streets wore scary costumes. I saw the familiar smiling face of Diango, the toy stall owner, among hoards of shoppers. I walked towards him, forcing a grin.

"Hello, my friend! I haven't seen you for months since you left for Varrock! How are you?" Diango exclaimed, patting me on the back.

"I've been fine, thanks," I replied. "Say, Diango, have you heard of any event that's going on because of Halloween?"

"I don't know," Diango replied, rather serious. "I don't think it's fully set up yet. There is trick-or-treating tonight, though. I'm selling pumpkin pots to keep the candy in, if you are interested."

"How much do they cost?" I asked.

"4gp per pot," he replied. He took one out from under the counter. It was very big, and hollow. The plastic eyes stared at me, spookily realistic.

"I'll buy five," I said. The others stared at me gratefully. I paid, and handed the pots around. Diango smiled.

Just then, I heard a yell coming from the path that led to Falador. Everyone from my gang spun around. Diango raised an eyebrow.

"I think you should check that out," he said, sounding nervous. I nodded, and ran towards the path. I ran down the path, the others following me. I arrived at the person who was yelling, gasping for breath. I noticed that the area seemed to get darker. I looked around, confused.

"Excuse me, did you…" I began, but I was cut off at the sight that awaited me.

A massive, swirling black portal stood there, towering above us. That explained the darkness. The portal stood on a black stone, with a picture of a raven standing on a scythe engraved into it. The portal rim was gold, with evil shapes of ravens, spiders, and scythes moulded onto it. The portal itself seemed to suck light and life out of the atmosphere. My stomach dropped. No wonder this person yelled when he saw this.

The person himself stood there, looking nervous. I noticed he wore sacred clay armour-something I'd only seen in ancient books Aubury showed us. He held a solid sacred clay sword, and an orange cape hung on his back.

"Hello, I am Ballbags32. I came to Draynor from an area in the wilderness called Stealing Creation-it is almost the only safe place in the whole area. I came to Draynor for the fine trick-or-treating candy, but instead I find a portal of darkness! I yelled for assistance," he said, introducing himself very well. I shook hands with Ballbags32.

"Hi, I'm Mainiac97, and here are my friends, Osrie1, Amy11, Capablanca and Sinlimitless1234," I said, proudly introducing my friends. "I wonder what this portal is. I've never seen anything like it."

Ballbags32 took a dart from his pocket. "I'm a tad handy with darts, if I do say so myself," he admitted. He threw the dart into the portal. The dart disappeared from view in layers of infinite darkness. "It seems to lead to somewhere, but what we need to know is if the place is safe, and if there is a way to some back," he pondered.

Our question was answered a second later, as a person was sent flying out of the portal. The person sat up, dusted himself off, and glared in the direction of it.

Ballbags32 leaned forward without hesitation. He touched the portal. Yelling, he floated in the air, and was dragged into the portal. I wanted to save my newfound friend. I jumped head-first into the portal. I screamed as I was dragged through suffocating darkness. All I could hear were moans and screeches. I instantly regretted my decision, knowing what I was facing now couldn't be good.

I appeared, dirty and very disgruntled, at the feet of Ballbags32. He laughed, and helped me up. I heard another four thumps as my other four friends appeared. I saw we were somewhere completely different. The sky was black and purple, with twisting shapes forming in it. We were in front of a colossal mansion. The wood was rotten, and the windows were filthy. Rotting Ficus trees stood there in their pots outside. The gravel underneath my feet led to a large door with a golden knocker in the shape of a raven. We approached the door nervously; it opened by itself with a creak.

The entrance hall must have cost a small fortune. Expensive furniture surrounded me. Dirty, creepy chandeliers hung above me, even scarier then the decorations that hung all over Varrock, Draynor and Lumbridge. We went into the main hall, and saw several people inside there, walking around, looking at the house curiously. Dust rose from the creaking, rotten floorboards. There was a strong smell of damp in here. A dirty fireplace was nearby, full of smouldering logs. There was someone sitting on a black throne ahead of us. We approached this person carefully, and we were shocked out of our minds.

Death sat on the throne, twisting a death rune in his hand. It wasn't the stronghold of security Death-this one was worse. This Death was the real, actual Death. He wore a black cloak, and he was literally a skeleton. A reanimated skeleton. He held a scythe that couldn't be compared to mine-mine was just a lump of wood and metal compared to his.

"Greetings, mortals," Death greeted throatily. "I am Death. Every Halloween a portal to my humble abode appears. I am in need of assistance."

"You want our help?" I asked shakily. I was frightened of Death, not only because he was Death, but because he reminded me eerily of the Death from the….I didn't need to say it. "What do you need help with?"

"I am having disagreements with the queen spider," he answered curtly, staring at me as if I was something unpleasant on his shoe. "She seeks war, because I refuse to fill my beautiful home with disgusting cobwebs. I have sent all the other curious mortals to tend to different matters."

"Why don't you just kill them?" I asked. "After all, you're Death."

"I can't abuse my powers," he answered. "She's not due to die by me, yet. However, if she is murdered, then it won't count."

"Right," I answered. "What do you want us to do?"

"Your mission isn't as simple as others," he answered. "Yours is a bit harder. I will open up a portal to the spider's home-the birthplace of all spiders. Simply, it is the spider dimension. They won't respect any humans in their dimension, so be prepared to squish any spiders that go your way. I want you to go to the spider queen, and give her this." He handed me a scrap of paper, which I pocketed. "I wouldn't try squishing any of the giant spiders, especially not the spider queen's herald. You may have to resort to violence to get to the queen, but do NOT attack the queen herself, or she will kill you! Do you understand?" I nodded, afraid to say no to this menacing figure.

Death was about to open up the portal, when a humongous figure smashed the door of its hinges. The door floated up, whacked the person across the head, and reattached itself. The person walked into the light. It was Madrey1. He wasn't wearing his usual Guthan's armour-he was wearing black, evil rags, and he was wielding a scythe, exactly the same as mine.

"What's the quest? You want me to do more chores? Where is my reward?!" Madrey1 barked. Death chortled.

"Madrey1, you're just how I remember you the last time I needed help," Death said. "Except you have more of an attitude. Now get out. I won't be spoken to like that." The door flew open. Death shot a black ray at Madrey1, who was sent, screaming, into the portal. The doors closed gently. I had to bite my tongue to stop myself laughing.

"Right, I'll open up the portal," Death said. He sat up, and dust fell from his bones. He twirled his finger in mid-air, and a small circle appeared. The circle opened up big enough so a man could fit through, and webs spun themselves inside the circle. The circle turned purple, and webs sprung out, connecting it all together. The finishing result was a portal.

"OK, in you go," Death said. He pushed me into the portal. I had the sensation of being forced through millions of sticky ropes. All I could see was darkness, and webs. I heard clicking sounds, and I saw a spider crawl past me. I screamed. I'd now discovered I had arachnophobia, as well as alektorophobia. No, wait, I wasn't scared of spiders. I just didn't like them. But arachnophobia sounded cool!

I landed with a thump on a bouncy, elastic surface. I stood up, and saw it was a floor made of webs. I looked around. All I could see was darkness. Webs hung around me, and a path made of webs spread out in front of me. I heard several thumps that came from behind me, signalling that the others had arrived. I yelled as a spider ran down my leg. I tried to step on it.

"Wait!" the spider yelled. "Don't hurt me!" I picked it up suspiciously.

"You're our enemies. Death sent us to pass a message on to the queen spider," I said.

"I'll help you!" the little spider cried eagerly. "I can take you there instantly, instead of you across the spider dimension to her. I don't like the spider queen-she's a bully. My name is Eek, by the way." We nodded. Eek crawled on my head. He spun a web, connecting all of us together. "Cobweb teleport!" he yelled, and we were dragged through another teleport though the spider dimension. My face got caught in several rope-like webs on the way. Eek the spider cried out an apology. I daren't open my eyes, in fear on what I would see.

We landed with a thump on another sticky, bouncy surface. I sat up, and rubbed my eyes. I looked around. We were surrounded with spiders. They hissed and clicked at me angrily. I heard a loud hiss, and the crowd of angry spiders parted. A large red one walked through, its legs about the same size as me.

"Greetings," it hissed. "I am the spider herald. Humans are not allowed in our dimension. Eek, you must go too, I expected better off you. I'm sorry, but we must dispose of all of you, before you destroy our home." As soon as the herald said that, a massive glob of webbing went in my face. I pulled it out, coughing, and I was greeted by a hundred spiders jumping on me at exactly the same time. I struggled to pull them all off. Osrie1 used a fire strike to burn some of the spiders attacking him.

"Fire strike!" I grunted, and a small explosion of flames sent the spiders attacking me flying. Several cinders landed on the web floor, and the floor went on fire. "Oops," I whispered to myself.

"RUN!" Ballbags32 bellowed, and we ran, crushing loads of spiders on our way. Flames licked at my heels, and Eek dug into my pocket, quivering. I saw a ladder of webs. I lunged towards it, but the spider herald jumped towards me, hissing.

The flames had reached higher-enough to burn me to a crisp. "You're burning our dimension!" the spider herald screeched. "I must protect the queen!" At that, it knocked me over with its leg. I stood up, and took out Pestilence's mace, or now my mace. I swung it around in a threatening way. The spider herald quivered. The weapon may not be as powerful as it was, but it sure looked dangerous. The spider herald backed off, and bumped into Amy11. Amy11 screeched.

"I hate spiders!" she screamed. At that, the spider herald jumped-jumped into a towering inferno of flames that were spreading, showing how useful a woman's arachnophobia could be. I watched with disgust as the spider herald was burnt to a frizzle. Its screeches of pain were very unpleasant. Just as I was about to climb the ladder, a thick strand of web caught me, and dragged me up. Screaming, I was trapped in a cocoon of webs, hanging above the most gruesome and horrible spider of them all.

This spider was very obviously the spider queen. She was massive, black, and disgusting. Hairs sprouted in every area possible from her body. Her pincers clicked together angrily, dripping poison, big enough to crunch me into pieces.

"You've killed my spider herald and set the square table of spiders on fire!" the spider queen hissed, obviously angry. "Explain yourself!"

"Death asked me to give you a note, and that spider was threatening to kill me and my friends," I choked, unable to breathe because of the web cocoon. I had to do something to protect myself." The spider queen hesitated, obviously resisting the urge to slaughter me. This was scary-very suitable for a Halloween event.

"Very well," she clicked. The webs holding the spider cocoon loosened, so I could get the note from y pocket. She shot a strand of web, catching the note in it. She shot several webs, using them to balance the note so she could read it with eight black, unpleasant eyes. She did a sound that sounded like purring.

"This note tells me Death wishes to see me, to settle matters between us," she informed me. "Once I've settled the argument with Death, I'll settle my argument with you." I gulped, knowing that I was doomed. The queen spider shot a glowing web at thin air, and a portal opened up, similar to the portal that took us here. She scooped up my friends and a dozen large spiders with some web, and jumped into the portal. I was forced though the unpleasant sensation of being dragged through cobwebs.

We reappeared in Death's living room. The curious bystanders jumped, screamed, and ran towards the portal leading back to Draynor. Dust exploded from underneath us, a tangle of humans, spiders and webs. Death stood up.

"Spider queen," he said curtly.

"Death," the spider queen replied coldly.

"We have matters we need to discuss involving the state of my house," Death said conversationally. "You want me to fill it with unpleasant cobwebs. Otherwise you would be offended. Can we sort this out?"

"Well, I'll leave you alone, on two conditions," the spider queen replied. "One: if you allow my assistant spiders to web up your living room, at least. Two: I want to take these humans back to the spider dimension. They killed my herald, which angers me very much. I want to deal with them myself." I stared at her, wide-eyed. Death shook his head, and I'm sure if he could have facial expressions he would look shocked.

"I can't sentence humans like that," he said. "I'll accept the first condition, but you will leave these humans alone."

"If I kill them anyway?" she challenged. "You can't kill me, since my death isn't due by you. They have no hopes at all when it comes to attacking me. What are you going to do?"

Death chuckled. "I can't kill you, but I have a friend who can," he answered. He whistled, and I beard booming barks come from behind a door. The door burst open.

A skeletal, large, furious dog was standing there. Its teeth were like daggers, and there was a dark red glow coming from its eye sockets. It growled at the spider queen. The spider queen hissed, and turned around to retreat (with us) to her dimension, but the portal had closed. She spat us at Death's feet.

What happened next wasn't pretty. Death clicked his bony fingers, and the dog lunged for the spider queen. She spat web in his eyes, but he didn't have eyes to blind. His teeth made contact with her leg, and her entire lower torso was ripped off. The portal opened again. The spider queen, screeching her last screech, was thrown into the dimension. Blue blood dripped all over the floor. I heard scuttling and hissing coming from the portal. The other spiders had seen what Death had done to their queen! The portal was closed instantaneously. Death's dog went back into the room he came from, chewing on a part of the queen's leg.

Five minutes later, Death coughed.

"It is reward time," he laughed. I never knew Death had a sense of humour. "You are more then deserving of a reward, because of your bravery. You marched into an unknown dimension to face an army of spiders. You killed the queen's herald. A new queen will replace the old one, but the spiders won't bother me any more. I couldn't have done this as well without you. Here's your reward." He went into a nearby cupboard, and took out several cloaks, and several tubes. He handed them to each of us.

The cloaks were cool. They had a pattern of webs on them, and the background was dark. They felt comfortable. I slipped my Easter cape off, and put this new, darker one on. The tubes were shiny, black tubes made of metal. They were closed by lids.

"The cloaks look good," Death observed. "They don't do anything in particular. They don't look scary to you, or me. But to others, they will look terrifying. It is perfect for trick-or-treating, which I presume you will do, or if you want to scare off weak-willed enemies. Open the tubes, then," he urged.

I pulled the lid off mine. Dark smoke filled the atmosphere. I breathed in the smoke by accident, and coughed.

"Those are my proudest inventions," Death said. "They're the handy-dandy Death smoke distracter. If you're in a sticky situation, pardon me for my fun pun, use that smoke distracter. It will fill the atmosphere with dark smoke, which will give you a chance to escape. You can use it five times-you would have been able to use it six times, but you used my free charge. Put the cap back on, and you can then use it wisely."

We thanked him several times, and then left his spooky house. Back in Draynor, it was dark. Perfect to begin trick-or-treating. I went to the bank and I picked up my warlock costume. I went to Diango, and picked up my two extra rewards that I'd missed-this year I picked the Death hood and the jack-o-lantern mask. That made my total Halloween rewards a skeleton set, a warlock set, a Death hood, a scythe, and my scary cape. I put away the Death hood, and I put on my cool jack-o-lantern mask. I stuffed my Easter cape in my pocket, to join my shell of peace, and….eek! I'd forgotten about Eek! I took the wriggling spider out of my pocket.

"Sorry, Eek," I apologised. He jumped up in my hand.

Don't worry! I hated my job back in the spider dimension! Now I can see the real world!" he laughed gleefully. I placed him on my head, so he had a clear view of Draynor. I took out my pumpkin pot from my bag, intent on filling it with candy. We set off, to knock on the doors, scare the people, get the candy, and enjoy this year's Halloween with our new friend, Ballbags32.


	54. Chapter 54: A Heart of Darkness

_**Chapter 54: A Heart of Darkness**_

"Wake up! Wake up! It's morning!" a small, eager voice cried out. I groaned, and turned over, pulling my pillow over my head. The pillow was snagged out my grip with a web, and thrown to the other side of the room. "Come on, let's play!"

"OK, OK, fine, I'm getting up!" I snapped; annoyed that my nice dream was interrupted. Eek the overly cheerful spider sat on my bedside table, his eight eyes staring up at me cheerfully. Today was the final day of being of Varrock. No more interruptions. Tomorrow we were setting off at Falador. I had a large array of useful weapons on my belt. I picked it up, and attached it to my waist.

The Halloween event was only yesterday. I stayed up, wandering around Varrock, Lumbridge, and Draynor, trick-or-treating. I'd filled up my massive pot, and I'd eaten all the sweets last night. Eek the spider was another reward I'd gotten. I'd put my rewards away in the bank, on the one shelf that housed my event rewards.

I'd met a youngster called Ballbags32, who'd been more then happy to join us for Halloween. When he heard about the Glory Troopers and their intentions, he'd signed up immediately. He couldn't join me and my friends on our travels, because he had to go through with Glory Trooper training first. I'd gotten mine already during the horrific month of Delrith's rising, so if I wanted to, I could join the Glory Troopers. But why would I want to? I have too much to see first.

I went downstairs, pulling on my silver jacket. It was starting to get worn out after the amount of times I'd worn it. Downstairs I was greeted with the marvellous sight of Aubury cooking breakfast. The luscious smell of cooking meat filled the small kitchen. Everyone was outside, socializing, waiting for breakfast to be ready.

Aubury nodded towards me, and handed me a plate full of meat and fried bread. "Enjoy," he smiled. I thanked him, and swallowed a chunk of meat. It was juicy, delicious, and well-cooked -I liked it. I gulped it all down easily.

I left the house/shop as everyone else started gathering inside the kitchen to collect their breakfast. Outside, with Eek on my shoulder, I breathed in the old Varrock smell of food, mixed with a tinge of rust and cloth. People surrounded me, going on with their business. I looked down the street, and saw the resplendent, burnished, sparkling fountain, a monument to peace and hope.

I decided to do some training with my favourite weapon-the skull sceptre. It had been in my bank during the Halloween event-that's why it wasn't on my belt then. This weapon was the best I'd ever gotten so far. It had managed to defeat Death of the four horsemen of the stronghold, as well as Pestilence!

I walked around. I really could do with some evil possessed animals right now. I decided to wave it around. I ended up smashing up a disused stall stand by accident.

A guard ran up to me.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" The guard yelled. I was about to apologise, to explain myself, when a crackle of evil energy ran up the hand that was holding the sceptre. My sceptre always gave me the feeling of complete power and strength, but this time it seemed to be….almost overwhelming. It was the same energy that took over me when I killed that vampire, the shades, and even Death the horseman. Except this one seemed stronger, and more powerful and overwhelming. _Why listen to him?_ A new, dark, sinister voice sneered in the back of my head, completely destroying any will I had. _He's an idiot guard, on a 5AM to 5PM shift. Do what you want._

This evil voice seemed to come from absolutely nowhere. It contained hidden authority, and power. The rest of my brain cried in protest as to my action. I sneered. I was surprised at myself, but I couldn't properly think it.

"Shut up," I said, much to my good side's disgust, and I elbowed the guard out of my way with more strength then I knew I had. He was sent flying into the opposite wall. There was something in my body that couldn't care less, that was taking over me. It was exactly the same feeling I had when I was in the stronghold of security-power beyond comprehension, expect increased to the point of complete control.

Several other guards ran up to help the guard who was lying among dozens of bricks. He sat up, and pointed at me.

"It was him!" he cried dramatically. Stupid fool. _Kill them,_ the dark voice of evil authority laughed. I obliged. I rushed towards these guards, and before they could even scream, their bodies lay on the floor, blood pouring from a massive sceptre-created slash. I didn't know whether it could be classed as a sceptre any more, with a massive blade sticking out of it. I didn't care, though-a dominant dark side was filling me with unbridled power. There was a part of the old me that screamed for me to stop, to ignore the evil voice. I smiled coldly at the small audience that had grown around me.

"Stop staring at me or you'll all die," I threatened, so happy to be causing pain. Something of my old self cried in protest at what I was doing. I pushed it even further back into my mind against my will, allowing it no entry to the rest of my brain. The big boys were in town.

After that was a load of fun. Killing guards, beating up innocent citizens; it was exactly what I, or my darker side, wanted to do. My skull sceptre swung around, crusted with dried blood, as I used it for cold-blooded murder. The dark voice that seemed to control me now, not allowing any compunction or fear inside my brain, took over all of my bodily functions. I couldn't even protest-my brain was forced to think evilly. Where was this evil coming from?! It was obvious where.

I walked past the small pile of bodies. More guards approached me carefully, pausing at the sight of me. I must look shocking-I stared into a nearby window. My black hair was swept to one side, causing a dark, sinister, almost sexy effect. My blue eyes shone with a furious power. The beginnings of a sneer were plastered on my face.

Of course, I didn't care. Correction-I couldn't care. The powerful evil which was showing itself exploded from me was slightly intimidating to others. My normal self was trapped in manacles, in a personal prison in the back of my head.

"I'd better alert the king," a guard whispered, before running off, wanting to put as much distance between him and me. I wandered towards a newspaper stall. The newspaper salesman gawped at me. How impertinent could these people be?! It angered me to the core. I sliced his head off cleanly, relishing the bloodshed.

A man wearing glasses and purple silk ran up to me. He was the king's right-hand man.

"You killed Benny's assistant!" he screeched. "Stop this immediately or you shall be arrested and hanged!"

I sneered. I now knew what it felt like to be Master Samuel who'd absorbed the energy matrix of Delrith. Any regret or resentment was destroyed by the evil, dominant part of me before it could reach me. With a swift movement, I split the king's helper completely in half.

A guard ran up to his corpse, his eyes wide open in shock.

"This is an emergency the king can't control-this requires the Glory Troopers," the guard mumbled, before running off towards the Glory Trooper base.

A twinge of realisation stung me, before it was overshadowed by the evil being taking control of me. The Glory troopers meant all my friends. If they came to stop me, they couldn't. It would cause so much pain if I killed any of them. But, because of my dark side, I couldn't do anything about it.

I stood frozen on the spot as the guard returned with Haru axe-man, Aubury, Haldir6, Osrie1, and Amy11. Haru stepped up to me, shock showing clearly on his face.

"Mainiac97. Is it you who has been killing so many guards, innocent citizens, and even the king's assistant?" Haru spluttered. "I can't believe it." I sneered at him, every pore of my repressed real being crying in protest.

"It is me. Are you going to stop me?" I taunted. Haru shook his head. "Then you're going to have to suffer the consequences." I lunged towards him, my skull sceptre shining with blood. But I was blasted back by a force more powerful then a tonne of bricks. I was smashed into the floor.

It was Aubury who'd blasted me back. Sadness was etched all over his face.

"I'm so sorry," he sniffed. I smiled at him, my teeth bared.

"Bring it on!" I bellowed, before running into him, intent on ending his life, against my will.

The fight continued for a while. I deflected every spell he sent at me, while he struggled. I tried, again and again, to just touch him with my sceptre. That would be enough to weaken him. Snarling, I elbowed him into Osrie1, who was sent bowling backwards. I held the sceptre to Aubury's throat, grinning evilly.

At that moment Amy11 jumped in front of me.

"No Mainiac97! Please don't! Remember who you are!" she begged, tears running down her cheeks like little waterfalls. My heart softened for a moment. I felt my newfound, sceptre-induced dark side fighting with my normal, good side. I remembered. Every time I went into a furious rage in the stronghold of security, Amy11 was the cure. When I killed the vampire, she calmed me down. When I disposed of the shades, she calmed me down. She had the power nobody else had to control me; she had even more power then the dark voice. It was because we had a connection that nobody could see, but we could feel.

I roared in agony, fighting the evil inside me, infecting me like a virus. Everyone gawped at me, shocked. I stared with tearstained eyes at the man who'd taken me into his home-Aubury. He was the man who'd gone to every extent to keep me and my friends safe. He'd made me breakfast this morning…and I was about to repay him with death. I screamed, as I painfully tried to rip the evil out of my body forever. It was like ripping out my heart. The dark voice which tried to control me roared for me to stop, and the only thing stopping me from obliging was Amy11. I fell to my knees, fighting a battle inside me. I had to destroy the evil once and for all. I knew it was going to hurt a lot, but it had to be done.

I rushed towards the fountain, and smashed the sceptre into the contents of it. I heard a scream coming from the sceptre as it drowned in the fountain water, destroying a small piece of me. I hit it repeatedly with my Barbarian hammer. It smashed to shards, and the red glow inside the eye sockets turned blue, then faded away forever. I collapsed, sobbing, and fainted.

I woke up groggily an hour later. Everyone stood above me, staring down at me worriedly. I sat up, alert. I felt back to normal-there was no evil voice there any more. Aubury stepped forward.

"I'm so sorry, Aubury!" I cried. "It was the voice, it controlled me…."

"Don't worry," he soothed me. "It wasn't your fault at all. Let me explain what I discovered after a spot of research.

"The skull sceptre was placed in the stronghold of security by Zamorak, as a very clever plot of his. He never told his horsemen-they were unimportant to him. He put the sceptre there as the only way of killing Death the horseman. Once a chosen person discovered all the pieces, put them together, and used the sceptre to kill Death, the person would gain trust in it as a strong weapon. But the sceptre would slowly be taking over his mind, planting seeds of evil. Once the time was right, the sceptre would completely take over the person, and force him/her to come over to Zamorak's dark side. Of course, it failed for you, and now the sceptre is gone."

Aubury finished his explanation with a smile. I now understood the history and the mechanics of the wretched skull sceptre. But it would never erase the horrible feelings and memories it had given me….. Eek, who'd been on my shoulder the whole time, shivered, scared at the whole idea of such a thing. I would never trust anything remotely dark again…..


	55. Chapter 55: The First Step to Falador

_**Chapter 55: The First Step to Falador**_

I growled, and pushed my way through droves of reporters and newspaper journalists, who were yelling questions at me and my friends.

"Aubury! Is it true that you've hired the famous miner, Elite, to the Glory Troopers?" one particularly annoying one screeched.

"To the man in front, with the big mace on his belt! Is it true that you killed several guards yesterday? Why weren't you arrested?" another one yelled.

"To Clayguy7 of Barbarian Village! Is it true you are supplying free clay items to the Glory Troopers?" another one enquired, not as eager and as pushy as the others. I recognised that one as Story Rover, editor and writer of the Lumbridge paper.

I hissed. I was starting to get angry at these annoying people, hell-bent on getting scraps of information for their newspapers. I tried to force calm on myself.

Aubury put his hand up.

"OK, that's enough interviews!" he yelled. "Now please get out of our way, or I will be forced to ask the guards to make you." At hearing this, all the journalists and reporters scuttled off, muttering.

No wonder they were eager for news. Recently, a very famous and talented miner named Elite had joined the Glory troopers. His job was gathering supplies, mainly ores and bars of metal. I hadn't gotten the chance to meet him ye.

We were leaving today. I'd made the travelling arrangements, and now, in one hour, we would leave Varrock, to finally continue on our adventures. Next up, was Falador. I'd looked at the world map, and had decided on my route. We would travel to Falador, stay there and explore the area, then we would travel back to Lumbridge, to say hello to some old friends. Mainly, we needed to go back to the wizard's tower.

We'd read a newspaper article recently, that the Herblore mage had been reported dead. I knew this, because I encountered it in a horrible dream. She was killed for information on a horrible potion I'd seen, both with my very own eyes, and in visions and dreams that I had. First, I needed to tell the people at the tower this. Second, I had another package, including the strange object that Aubury had dubbed 'the air talisman', to give back to the head of the wizard's tower, Sedridor from Aubury, to continue on my 'rune mysteries' quest. That was in my bank, safe, ready to be removed when needed.

Third, there was a wise old wizard who lived at the top of the tower, who had lost four coloured beads. He'd asked us to help him find them. Imps stole them from him, and they could have been anywhere. I remembered this yesterday, and talked to Aubury about it. He told me that, coincidently, there had been an infestation of imps in the shop's cellar while he was in the stronghold of security. He'd sorted the imps out when he arrived back, but three of them had been holding beads. He gave them to me. All I needed to do now was find the last one, and I could complete that quest.

I stepped inside the welcoming shop that I could call home, before letting everyone else in. I slammed the door, deciding that for now on I didn't like annoying reporters.

Aubury gathered everyone inside the kitchen, before reaching inside his larder, coming out with several cake slices, and handing them out.

"Who here is going with Mainiac97's gang in an hour?" Aubury called out. I put my hand up along with: Osrie1, Amy11, Capablanca, and Slinky, as well as Aaron the explorer (who'd offered to tag along, and who could refuse his help?), and finally Mark (who wanted to meet a friend in Falador, and then he'd travel ahead without us). That was seven people altogether. I daren't imagine the catering problem while camping out, but then I discovered Slinky's cooking, something off this planet. That cured that problem instantly, with the right utensils and ingredients. Haldir6 would be replacing Slinky as commander.

Right, I had an hour to sort out my bag, gather my possessions, say goodbye to Varrock, and then meet the others in Barbarian Village. Eek the spider stirred in my pocket, and jumped on my shoulder with the help of a web, where he nestled. I gave him a handful of cake crumbs to feast on for his breakfast. He greeted me in the usual chirpy, eager voice. As people left the kitchen after the light snack to do their own thing, I sat up, and left. People congratulated me and wished me good luck as I passed them.

I went up to my room. The entire contents of my wardrobe were set out on my small, comfortable bed. I would miss this cosy room dearly. I wondered if the hotel rooms in Falador were anything compared to the room here, or the rooms in the Lumbridge hotel, or even the sleeping quarters of the quest master on Tutorial Island!

I sorted my clothes out, automatically deciding which clothes I should keep somewhere in my bag, and which clothes to store in my bank. I'd gone out and bought a small pile of pillows which would serve as my bed in the outdoors, if I ever needed to sleep outdoors. I didn't like that idea, though-the idea of having someone like Madrey1 sneaking up on you as you slept wasn't a very nice one!

I finished clearing out my wardrobes. The contents of my bag included: my sleeping pillows, my world map, a small food container containing several meat sandwiches and glass bottles of wine and water, my clothes (I was wearing my favourite silver jacket), my survival kit, my mining and Smithing kit, a small alarm clock Aubury had given me as a farewell gift, and even more. All the junk that used to clutter it was now in my bank. I also had my bag pockets. I checked I had everything on my weapon belt, before double-checking everywhere in the room.

I left my room, and walked outside. I went to different places, saying goodbyes to the people and even the places. I was looking for one person, specifically- Elite. I wanted to meet him before I left. I passed Ballbags32 in the street, and I stopped him.

"Hello," he greeted me cheerily. "I heard you're leaving. I'll talk to you occasionally, if I can, though the chat functions on the friends list."

"I can't use the chat function, as well as my friends list or ignore list, at all," I said gloomily. "Neither can anyone else that I know. It worked when I was on Tutorial Island, but now it breaks down. At least the book still works. It has something to do with the darkness that's spreading everywhere, according to Aubury." He nodded.

"That's bad," he noted. "I'm sure mine will start playing up too soon."

"Do you know where I can find Elite?" I asked.

"Yeah," he told me. "He's resting from mining in the Jolly Boar Inn. I'd watch that pub, though-you don't half see some dodgy characters in there."

"Where is it?" I asked, unfamiliar with that pub. Ballbags32 smiled.

"Follow me," he suggested. He walked casually past the fountain, in the direction that led past the general store. I followed him, eager to meet the new Glory Trooper.

He led me down a labyrinth of paths, the area getting dirtier as we went. We passed loads of trees, guards, and we passed the famous Varrock lumber mill. We ended up wandering off the path and onto grass. I heard the cry of a bird, and the sound of the wind blowing through the trees. This place felt lonely. My mood started to droop. Why would anyone want to go to a pub here?

We finally arrived at the pub. It was right on the edge of the wilderness ditch, for a start. I couldn't see as far as half a mile, because it was so dark and gloomy. The wood that this pub was made of was rotting, and was barely strong enough to hold the place together. The sign that read 'The Jolly Boar Inn' hung on rusty hinges, with a picture of a decapitated boar's head smiling eerily on it. Ballbags32 opened the door, and gestured for me to enter. I nodded, nervous. I kept my hand on my mace.

Inside the bar was freezing. Straw littered the floor, and the tables and walls were greasy and filthy. Pictures of crying children and disfigured creatures decorated this already miserable bar. It was very empty. The only people that were inside included me, Ballbags32, three shady men in the corner, the bartender, and another man that sat by the bar, drinking from a dirty mug. The bartender was ugly, with a filthy red beard and a dirty apron. He looked up at us suspiciously.

"Can I get you gents anything?" he asked quietly. I shook my head, but Ballbags32 nodded.

"Can I have a beer please?" he asked. The bartender sighed, and reached under the table, getting a mug. We sat down next to this man by the bar. I noticed that the man was wearing a shiny white outfit. My heart brightened up.

"Are you Elite, the new Glory Trooper?" I asked. He looked at me. His cheeks were round and rosy, and his eyes were a cheerful light green. His smile nearly illuminated the dingy pub. I noticed he wore a belt like mine that held a rune sword, a rune pickaxe, and a Smithing hammer.

"Yes I am," he replied. "I take it that you are the infamous Mainiac97 that Aubury was telling me about?" he beamed. I felt happier already in the presence of this very cheerful man.

"Yeah," I confirmed. "Why is a talented miner like you going in a bar like this?" The bartender stared at me angrily at this statement.

"It's peaceful," Elite mused. "Plus, it's closer to my mining spot then the Blue Moon Inn. I like it here." The bartender seemed happier at this statement. Ballbags32 was given his drink in a filthy glass. Shuddering, Ballbags32 downed the whole thing in one gulp.

I spent about thirty minutes chatting animatedly to Elite as Ballbags32 drunk. He was a very nice man to know, and I was glad I'd met him. I remembered where I was and that in ten minutes I was supposed to be meeting the others to leave. Ballbags32 asked for another drink, and started chatting to Elite.

"Goodbye, Mainiac97, I hope to meet you again," Elite said. Ballbags32 nodded in agreement.

"Yeah," ballbags32 added. The alcohol seemed to have no effect on his speech. "I wish you good luck on your travels." I thanked them both thoroughly, shook hands, and left.

I wandered through the trees, looking for landmarks that would help me get back. I finally discovered the stone wall that led to some yew trees behind Varrock palace. I grabbed hold of some loose bricks, and climbed to the top. Looking down, I noticed that if I dropped, I'd land in a cage containing a sleeping bear. I didn't like the look of that. I shimmied to the side, and fell to the ground. I sat up, dusted myself off, and ran, ignoring the bewildered glances of woodcutters and lumberjacks.

I followed the stone path, and ended up back in the town square. I stared sadly at the glorious, sparkling fountain that I might not see for a long time again. Busy people went in different directions, doing many things. I walked casually past the fountain, past Gypsy Aris's abandoned tent. I wondered where she was, avoiding Master Samuel's cronies who were hunting her down because she held an orb with the mist of the future in it-something they needed for their dark, evil potion. I had the dream/vision which told me that after defeating Gunther the brave, if I remembered correctly.

I walked down the path, feeling down. This city had been my home. Now, I was moving on. This feeling was a lot like the feeling I had when I left Lumbridge.

I crossed the unstable bridge which led to Barbarian Village. Osrie1, Amy11, Capablanca, Slinky, Mark and Aaron stood there, chatting, waiting patiently for me. I waved at them.

"Everyone got everything they need?" I asked. Everyone nodded. "Then let's go."

We started walking down the unfamiliar grassy path which led to Falador. The environment was changing slowly-spiky evergreen trees towered everywhere, and way above us, towered a very icy mountain. Small avalanches of snow and ice fell down this mountain in clumps, and if I squinted, I could see a red tent at the top. I could feel the cold environment from here.

We passed this massive mountain, and just as I was about to pull out my map to tell me how far we had to travel before we arrived at Falador, I heard a strange noise. I put my hand up, signalling to everyone that I wanted to stop. The noise grew louder. It sounded like an angry wolf growling. It then turned into a very unfamiliar noise, which sort of reminded me of the black fly's curious sky-stick. Then, the weirdest object shot past us. It spun around with a screech, and raced towards us again. It stopped. A towering man got off it.

He was wearing full black, which included black leather trousers and shirt, black shoes, black gloves, and a strange black helmet with a glass visor, with a picture of a flame with a roaring face and horns engraved on the top of it. The vehicle was even more unfamiliar. It had a leather seat, with handles that steered the thing. It had metal covering the whole thing, with more pictures of flames painted on. It had two wheels, one in front of the other. Unfamiliar machinery which seemed to be covered with filth, dust and oil controlled the whole thing. I felt like I'd seen this somewhere before, though I couldn't put my finger on it. The man chuckled. His taut muscles rippled under the dark, sleek leather. This man and his choice of clothing (minus the helmet) seemed oddly familiar….

"You like this beauty?" he wheezed, his voice muffled by his helmet. He patted the leather seat. "Obviously, you wouldn't know what it is. It's called a motorbike, a form of transportation that was invented in a different dimension-my dimension. Of course, we needed….help to get them all over here, but it was worth it." I heard more revving noises and growling noises, and six of these motorbikes with more men on them surrounded us. The man we were talking to flipped up his visor. We gasped.

The sneering face of the black fly was seen. He took off the seat of his motorbike, and underneath was a container. He took out a massive, evil green sword with sharp, blunt blades, and a flat metal square with pipes and odd buttons on it. He pressed a button on this metal square, and it grew, transforming into the black fly's sky stick. The other riders revved up their motorbikes, ready to speed off. The black fly smiled.

"I swore revenge on you, and now I will get it. Prepare to die," the black fly hissed. The black fly whistled, and another man in black leather with a helmet jumped on the black fly's bike, prepared to use it. "Feel the wrath of my clan from a different dimension-the demon clan," the black fly chuckled. What did my instincts tell me to do? Run. That is exactly what I did. The motorbikes revved up furiously, and began speeding after us, the black fly in the lead on his sky stick, cackling madly.


	56. Chapter 56: Introducing the Demon Clan

_**Chapter 56: Introducing the Demon Clan….**_

Gulping for air, I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, my heart thumping adrenaline-spiked blood around my body. I daren't look behind me, because I could still hear the roar of several engines following me and my friends. Eek the spider yelled in his very small voice, and leaped into my pocket, although it wouldn't help him much if these monstrosities caught up with me.

We found ourselves back at the gates of Barbarian Village. I didn't want to go in there and endanger lives. I didn't fancy going back and facing these men on motorbikes, either. I looked around desperately, and saw a muddy bank leading into a forest of evergreen trees. I gestured for everyone else to follow me, and I skidded down the muddy bank. I ran into the forest, with the others following me, panting for breath.

That didn't stop the 'demon clan', though. I heard several engines revving as they slid down the muddy hill/bank. I raced deeper into the forest, hoping to outrun the demon clan. I failed, as the bikes gained on me, smashing down trees in the process. I covered my head as twigs and leaves rained down on me.

A motorbike whooshed past me, repugnant smoke blasting in my face. I coughed, flailing my arms to beat away the thick, disgusting stuff trying to choke me. The motorbike screeched to a stop, and spun around to face me. The engine started up again with another ear-splitting roar. Several more screeches surrounded us, trapping us. The black fly hovered above us, cackling evilly.

All of the demon clan smiled at having us cornered. The engines seemed to scream for blood. But then I had a thought. How could they possibly kill us with a few motorbikes? The worst they could do would be to knock us over with them, but that didn't seem as bad as it could be. We could handle that-the only thing we had to fear was the black fly's sword and sky stick. But, almost as if they could read my mind, they pulled out several blades. There blades were fairly long and green, but nowhere near as long and blunt as the black fly's.

"You will die at the hands of our electrocuted swords!" the black fly smirked. I didn't know what the word 'electrocuted' meant, but I didn't need to find out-the black fly plunged his sword right through a tree and the tree burst into flames with an unpleasant crackle of energy. I was now glad that that blade hadn't touched me in the stronghold of security. The demon clan pointed their swords at us, revving up their motorbikes.

We continued to run. The growl of the motorbikes reached a crescendo, and they zoomed after us.

We couldn't run away for much longer. These motorbikes were catching up to us, smoke polluting the atmosphere around us. I was surprised I had this much energy in me-fast enough to barely outrun motorbikes! The strike of an 'electrocuted' sword narrowly missed my head, and I felt several of my hairs singe.

This was solid proof that what Ilookgood99 had been telling me was true. There was another dimension. But could I believe what he was telling me when it came to _me_ coming from this 'other' dimension? Well, I'd had visions of strange things on Christmas and New Year's Day, but what did they mean?

I felt myself slowing down. My lungs couldn't take any more of the pressure. The others slowed down too, obviously as exhausted as I was. I heard the motorbikes come closer to us. I saw evergreen trees burst into flames and collapse. I closed my eyes, preparing to be barbequed by these powered swords.

I desperately searched for ways to stop this ruinous clan from chasing us. I thought long and hard. I thought of a similar situation, fighting Death the horseman. Oh, how they would suffer if I still had my skull sceptre…..a raw wound stung at this, so I pushed it away, scared of having it take over me again. I went back further, to when I was fighting Gunther the brave. That nearly drove me insane, knowing I was about to fight a warrior much stronger then me. But I succeeded, with help from lady luck and a few emotes. That sparked a massive idea in my head. I smiled.

I could see the black fly approaching me at top speed. He was coming so close I could see the yellowing shade of his teeth, and the red glow of his eyes. He took a black dagger from his pouch, and threw it at me. It hit my shoulder with a resounding _crack_! I screamed in pain, but I couldn't let something like agony distract me from even worse agony.

I thought strongly of the emote I received in the stronghold, where the massive shield would appear for a split second, then disappear into thin air. I willed myself to be consumed by the emote. All of a sudden, the huge, red and yellow shield came from nowhere.

I had to chuckle silently at the black fly's face. Shock and confusion plastered his face, and I was sure I could hear him say 'oops' to himself. An echoing crash could probably be heard from Lumbridge as the black fly collided with the shield, collapsing in a heap of black leather and metal, before the shield disappeared into nothingness. The black fly's sword swerved in a perfect arc right over my head, and implanted itself cleanly into the soft ground. I felt drained from the effort of making that emote appear, and didn't feel like I could do it for at least another ten to twenty minutes.

I heard a loud skidding sound as the demon clan swerved around to avoid running over their already injured leader. The result was catastrophic as a horrific crash followed. Flames spurted everywhere and people jumped off their bikes to avoid injury.

The black fly stood up. He elbowed me out the way, and reached out to grasp his sword. He turned around, prepared to jump back onto his sky stick and continue chasing us. Instead he was greeted with a heap of wrecked metal on fire and six people awaiting orders.

The black fly groaned, obviously not expecting to be outsmarted so early in his stages of becoming an intimidating villain. "Great," he groaned. "Now I need to build another six motorbikes out of the scrap metal this dimension has to offer. Coming over here to cause some havoc and destruction in the name of Zamorak was not worth it. Everyone, we need to teleport back to base!" Several roars of agreement followed, and I saw everyone disappear in puffs of smoke one by one, until only the black fly remained. The black fly spat at my feet, and was gone.

I removed the dagger from my wound, wincing in pain. Amy11 rushed over, looking worried. She delved into her bag, and pulled out several health potions. She handed them to me, and I gulped down the thick orange mixture. I felt in my own bag, and my blood almost froze. I'd forgotten my own health pack and potion-making kit in my bank! I slapped myself, and gave Amy11 a grateful smile. She smiled back and winked at me, and I found myself blushing.

We all whooped in relief, and retraced our steps, using the destroyed and burnt trees as a guide back to the path. Osrie1 patted me on the back.

"Nice thinking," he commented. "If you hadn't done that stunt with the shield, then we would have been barbequed by those 'electrocuted' swords, whatever that means." I thanked him, smiling at my very first and one of my very best friends. Eek the spider poked his small head out anxiously.

"Is it safe to come out now? Wow, your world is a very dangerous place to be," Eek commented. I nodded sadly in agreement, though I wouldn't call his dimension the safest place either, with giant queen spiders and sticky webs. I wondered if Eek had a brother called Eew.

We finally arrived back at the path, after climbing back up the muddy bank. I could see the black marks of the wheels of the motorbikes, and I could still smell the lingering smoke. We continued on our journey.

After much walking, the air became fresher and fresher. I breathed in the scent of mud, grass, and tree sap. It was the curious scent of adventure, and it felt brilliant on my tongue. We finally arrived at a crossroad which led in several different directions. One was the way we just walked. At one side, there was a stone statue of a man in robes with a beard. There was a man playing a lute by the statue. He stared up at us happily, plucking away at the strings, creating a powerful melody.

One led up a side path, with a huge stone wall towering next to it. I would investigate that wall further some other time.

The final path led to a large marble wall, made from the most expensive and finest marble bricks. This wall stretched out as far as I could see. It stood, proud, tall, and shining; proof of this city's glory and history. There was a large arch in this wall, and the gravel path turned into shining marble as it led under this arch. Several guards wearing a lot of iron, with the mark of Falador on their chest, stood under the arch, watching everything with a hawk's eye.

We walked towards this arch, staring up at it in awe. Even though I knew we were entering something majestic and awesome, my mind still wandered towards the demon clan. I hoped, for Falador's sake, that they wouldn't enter the city on their massive monstrous bikes, and ruin everything pure and glorious.


	57. Chapter 57: The Marble City

_**Chapter 57: The Marble City**_

We went under the shining arch that led to the city of Falador. The guards surveyed us cheerfully. I was blinded for a second as I stared around me. Everything in this city was as white as snow, from the floor, to the walls, to even the roofs. Most of it was constructed from the finest marble. It glinted in the glorious sunlight. This city was even more majestic then Varrock.

Right in front of us, was a town square, constructed purely from, you guessed it, marble. The statue in the middle, of a large bearded man in robes, was made from stone. There were four paths coming from this square-it seemed like every single town square I'd seen so far had four paths leading from them.

The first one was the one we'd come from. The second one was right in front of us. It led over a crystal-clear stream, and into somewhere blocked off by more towering marble walls. Two towering burnished stone statues of knights stood at the other end of this bridge.

A guard walked up to us, smiling cheerfully.

"Hello!" he boomed merrily, his resplendent armour glinting in the bright sunlight. "Happy thanksgiving!" I gave him a confused look.

"Excuse me?" I asked incredulously. He laughed.

"Today is thanksgiving," he explained. "Thanksgiving is an annual event, where the people of RuneScape all thank Saradomin for everything. Turkeys appear on this day, and are killed for delicious meat." I remembered with a jolt. I missed last year's Thanksgiving-I wasn't prepared to do that this year.

"Is there an event this year?" I asked. He shook his head, still smiling.

"Not really," he said. "Turkeys have appeared, and there will be a great feast tonight to celebrate in the party room. The celebrations will continue for a few days, before the turkeys disappear. I heard Sir Amik Varze is giving out Cornucopias to people who complete a little chore for him."

"Who is he? Where is he?" I asked, confused. The guard chuckled, bent over with mirth.

"I'd go in there and ask around," he said, pointing towards the building opposite the bridge. I nodded, thanked him, and ran to the path on my right, planning to go inside the building later on.

I found myself surrounded by shops. There was a hairdresser for haircuts nearby, with the red and white sign twirling outside. Opposite it was a jewellery shop. Slinky waved at us, and told us she was going to look inside, and that she'd meet up with us later in town square.

I looked around, interested, at the large array of shops made from shiny marble. It was packed- people surrounded us, doing every day business. I passed large marble fountains spurting crystal-clear water, and dozens of marble benches. Marble was a very big merit in Falador; that much was obvious.

I noticed that on almost every shop window, a poster was pasted on the window. I looked closer at a poster. It was large, and was bordered with red and gold ink. Inside, it read:

_WANTED: GYPSY ARIS_

_FOR TREASON_

_REWARD: 10 MILLION GOLD PIECES_

I stared, flabbergasted at the poster. Under the large, bold writing, there was a blurry picture of Gypsy Aris, made from special dyes. Why was Gypsy Aris wanted? She hadn't done anything. I remembered, in one of my curious dreams, that somebody mentioned needing Gypsy Aris, because she had a glass orb that had mist of the future. Curious….I vowed to protect her, even is she had committed treason.

As we continued, Capablanca split up with us at a sword shop, Osrie1 stepped inside a bakery, and Mark went inside a general store for a browse.

The final shop at the end of the packed street was a rather small marble shop. The sign hanging above the door read 'Steel Supplies'. I opened the door, and peeped inside.

It was full to the brim with steel. Steel armour, steel weapons, steel bars, even steel ornaments cluttered glass cases and shelves. A man came from behind a door at hearing the shop bell tinkle. He grinned widely at us.

He was wearing full steel himself, minus a helmet. A large steel belt held several steel weapons. Even his eyes were cold and steely.

"Hello," he greeted us. "Welcome to my shop. You can call me Irish. Can I help you?"

I examined my armour; steel plate legs, iron chain mail and bronze helmet. It wasn't good enough if I was going to fight against the likes of Master Samuel.

"Yes," I confirmed. "I'd like to buy a steel medium helmet and steel a steel plate body." The shop owner, Irish, nodded at my request, and opened up a glass cabinet. He pulled out a steel medium helmet, and a steel plate body. He handed the both of them to me. I pulled off my chain body and helmet, and put on the new ones. They felt cold, hard and new on my body. I threw the old stuff into my bag.

"That will be 700gp, please," Irish chirped. I pulled a handful of coins out of my bag, and counted out 700 coins. I handed them to him. He smiled.

"Thank you," he said, putting the money into a till.

Just as we were preparing to leave, the door was blasted off its hinges. In stomped a massive, muscled, bulky figure. I groaned as I recognised the person as Madrey1. He'd followed me all the way to Falador! I swore silently under my breath.

Madrey1 looked around, disgusted.

"You call this a shop?" he roared, shaking the glass cabinets. "It's full of noob junk!" he grabbed a cabinet, and threw it towards Irish. I gasped, and shuddered, expecting to hear the sound of smashing glass at any second. What happened next, I was NOT expecting.

Irish looked at the sleeve of his steel armour, and pulled back a rather small plate of steel. A hidden switch was revealed. He flicked the switch, and steel seemed to explode from him. His armour had expanded to triple the size! The glass cabinet was deflected, and Madrey1 grabbed it cleanly, and put it back down. Madrey1 ran towards Irish, and swung a punch towards him. The punch was deflected, and madrey1 was forced back a couple of feet. Snarling, madrey1 took out his sword, and swung it towards Irish's bulking armour. A small dent was made. Irish laughed, and elbowed madrey1. Madrey1 was sent crashing into a wall, leaving a human-shaped mark in it.

"You….you…..you…" Madrey1 gasped. "Fine, I'll leave this crummy old shop, but don't expect it to be the last of me!" At that, Madrey1 ran out the shop, yelling "Phantom! It happened again!"

"I collapsed, laughing, almost in tears at the image of Madrey1 clanking out the shop, huffing and puffing. After thanking Irish, we left the shop, and walked towards the square. There we met Osrie1, Mark and Slinky, and went towards the bridge, looking forward to seeing what was on the other side.


	58. Chapter 58: Turkey in the Tower

_Happy Thanksgiving 2009!**

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_**Chapter 58: Turkey in the Tower**_

I felt a little bit of déjà vu as I crossed the marble stone bridge, because this was where the Noob exterminators (Madrey1 and Phantom) killed an innocent guard. I shuddered at the memory of the horrifying vision. I had no idea whatsoever where we were going.

We arrived at the other end of the bridge. Nearby us were two towering statues of knights. I walked past them, under the marble arch that led through the wall that blocked our vision of this place.

We were in a courtyard, and in front of us was one of the biggest castles I had ever seen. Possibly even bigger then the Varrock castle! The castle was made from shiny marble, like everything else in this glorious city.

The courtyard was made from stone bricks, with patches of grass, and a fountain in the shape of a knight spurting water. Knights in shining white armour with shining white swords marched around doing their business. With a jolt of realisation, I realised this was the infamous, glorious castle of the White Knights that Aubury was telling us about. This explained the statues and the knights marching around us.

A white knight in gold-trimmed white knight armour marched up to us. He held his sword to my neck.

"Halt! Intruders!" the white knight barked. He pulled up his visor, revealing a man with green eyes and brown hair glaring at us. "You will be escorted to Sir Amik Varze." I nodded nervously, afraid of annoying this obviously high-ranked white knight. Several white knights surrounded us, and we were ushered through a rather large oak-panelled door.

We were ushered through several corridors. White stone gleamed around us like suns. We passed pictures, decorations, statues, doors, and plenty of marble. Sooner or later we arrived at stairs spiralling upwards. I was poked in the back by a rather sharp sword. I hopped up the staircase.

After a while, and more pictures of the countryside, and portraits of famous white knights, we arrived at the obviously desired floor. This was apparent as I was poked again by a sword.

I'd walked into an office. Several bookshelves surrounded us, and golden or marble statues of white knights in battle stood, tall and proud. In front of us, a large yew desk, plated with gold, silver and white stone, stood. Sitting on a comfortable-looking chair, was a very powerful-looking man.

This man was tall, and muscled. He had jet black hair, and deep green eyes. His white armour was even more resplendent then the others, plus, there was a black metal name tag with the word 'commander' stamped into it in gold letters on his chest. His face was buoyant and full of life and colour.

"Greetings!" he laughed. "I am Sir Amik Varze, and who might you be?" he stopped smiling when he saw that we were surrounded by white knights holding swords to our necks. "What's wrong?" He asked, concerned. The white knight with gold-trimmed armour cleared his throat, and stepped forward.

"These people are intruders," he announced. "I'd like your permission to kill them." Sir Amik Varze gasped.

"Kill them?!!" he yelled. "We don't even know who they are yet, soldier!" he turned to us with a kinder expression on his face. "Please introduce yourself."

"Gladly, sir," I said, smiling back. "I am Mainiac97, and this is Osrie1, Capablanca, Amy11, Slinky, Aaron, and Mark."

His face registered comprehension at our names. "Aren't you that travelling bunch of kids who have been helping the Glory troopers that Aubury was telling me about?" he asked. I nodded, and his grin lit up the whole room.

"This is the ancient castle of the white knights," he explained seriously. "It was started by a very old ancestor, who wanted to protect the city of Falador from the black knights, a terrible enemy force that wanted to take over the town, and kill everyone in it. We are still here, protecting Falador from attack. Thanks for visiting. You are the perfect people who can help me!" He walked towards his window. "Look at that," he said, pointing out the window. I went next to him, and peered out.

I could see why he liked his office. The window overlooked several beautiful marble towers, shining like the sun. A stunning countryside was laid out below, like a colourful blanket.

Sir Amik Varze pointed towards a particular tower. "That's my private study," he explained. "I treasure it like it is my only son. I worked hard to build it. Downstairs, the castle chefs had caught several turkeys to turn into a huge dinner for tonight. But, the turkeys broke loose, and now they are on the run. They ran into my precious study and are wrecking it!" he looked close to tears. "I don't want to send in white knights, because it will result in blood and gore, which will cause a mess on the carpet. Could you and your friends dispose of it?" His eyes bore into mine, questioning. I thought hard. I didn't like the sound of killing wild turkeys. But, I didn't want to make enemies with the commander of a massive legion of knights.

"OK," I said at last. He grinned widely at me.

"Thank you," he said, giving me a small bow. "I will ask Cedric to guide you to the staircase that leads to my exquisite study." He gestured towards the white knight with gold-plated armour. Cedric glared at us, and walked off, gesturing for us to follow him. I followed uncertainly.

Cedric looked very angry.

"Look, just because my boss told me to take you to his study, it doesn't change my opinion of you," he hissed. "As far as I'm concerned, Glory troopers or not, you're still intruders on our territory and on my pride." I nodded sadly, realising I'd lost yet another potential friend.

After a few minutes of walking through several corridors, rooms and staircases, we arrived at the foot of stone spiral stairs. I peered up. I could hear strange noises coming from whatever was up there. I shivered anxiously.

"OK, up you go, you noble heroes," Cedric said sarcastically. "Go and slay horrific turkeys." I gave him a quick glare for his rudeness, and walked up, the others following nervously.

I walked up the staircase, and finally arrived at the tip. There was an oak-panelled door ahead of us. From behind it, I kept hearing the same strange sound. It was hard to describe. The best way I could describe it would be like someone drowning. I could hear repeated clucks, and a strange warble. I opened the door.

I was inside a beautiful room. Oak desks surrounded the area. Bookshelves lined the opposite walls, and the place was surrounded with red velvet rugs and comfortable couches. A large marble fireplace stood the other end, several logs lying inside, ready to be lit.

On the other hand, there were at least four turkeys running around like they were headless. They looked like overweight, brown-feathered chickens with red things hanging from their beaks. They were doing their strange sound repeatedly. They were in danger of smashing into something. I removed Silverlight from the pouch on my belt, when Osrie1 reached out an arm to stop me.

"Remember what Sir Amik Varze said? No gore," he whispered urgently. I sighed, nodded, and put the sword back into the pouch, thinking. How could I dispose of these turkeys without causing a mess?

I looked at the opposite end of the room, and saw the fireplace. I smiled to myself. I could handle cleaning up a fireplace. I pulled out my tinderbox, and ran towards it. I scratched the metal sharp bit against the sturdy wood logs lying in the fireplace. A spark lit up the whole thing. It crackled merrily, and didn't seem like it would be responsible for the deaths of several turkeys.

I grabbed a turkey-a big mistake. It went ballistic. It pecked at my head furiously, and painfully. I yelled, and endured the pain the writhing turkey was causing me. I lost a handful of hit points. I ran towards the fire, and threw the turkey inside.

The turkey didn't last very long. The flames surrounded and captured the turkey, and now all that remained was a pile of charred meat, bones, and feathers. I pulled the lump of burnt turkey out, and showed it to the others. I think I got the message across, as the other turkeys ran out of the room. I laughed, knowing the white knights would deal with them.

After extinguishing the flames and cleaning up the remains of the long-gone turkey, I went back downstairs. Cedric reluctantly took us back to Sir Amik Varze, who was delighted.

"We'll eat well tonight!" he practically squealed. "Thank you very, very much for getting those turkeys out! You are free to roam the castle. I'm sure you'll meet many new people and face many challenges in these halls! I can't give you much of a reward. I have cornucopias here."

"What are they?" I asked, as he gave us large hollow clay horns. He smiled back.

"It's an old Thanksgiving tradition," he explained. "If you put food in that, it will never rot. It will grow if you leave it overnight. It's very useful for my chefs. I also heard it makes you in one with your inner turkey." I stared at him, confused. He laughed at me. "Imagine a turkey. Will yourself inside that one turkey." I obliged, and the strangest thing happened-I turned into a turkey. I was shocked. I ran around for a minute, staring up at my friends angrily, who were howling with laughter at me. After a minute of laughter and clucking, I transformed back to normal.

"But that isn't it; here, I have some old magnifying glasses." He handed around several dusty magnifying glasses. "They aren't much, but they are very old, and they belonged to my father. If you look through at something, you may discover something you never noticed before." I thanked him profusely for everything. I left the room to explore. As I stared behind me, I was met with the cold glare of Cedric. I stared back, shocked, as I set out to explore the castle of the white knights.


	59. Chapter 59: White Knight Castle

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Well, I've spent the last 45 minutes re-uploading my stoy, and, officially, for now on, author notes are starting again. Most of my notes are at the bottom.**

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_**Chapter 59: White Knight's Castle**_

Just as we were about to leave Sir Amik Varze's room, he jumped up, and ran towards us.

"Wait!" he cried. He went towards Capablanca, a frown of thought on his face. "Don't I know you from somewhere?" Sir Amik Varze asked curiously. Capablanca nodded.

"You used to be my boss," he said. "I'm Capablanca the noob protector, don't you remember me?" A flicker of realisation went across Sir Amik Varze's face.

"Oh yes, now I remember you!" he yelled excitedly. "I fired you because you were always following our guests around, calling them noobs and requesting to help them. I could consider re-hiring you, because of your valiant efforts saving my private study from rampaging turkeys. Stay here with me, and we'll discuss it. In the meantime, you others are free to explore the castle." He waved at us, guided Capablanca to his desk, and started talking to him. We left the room.

I stared around me, amazed at the glorious beauty of the castle. The exquisite paintings of the countryside and portraits of famous white knights were amazing to behold. White knights proudly guarded the castle that they'd protected for so many years.

Nearby there was a door that was half open. I peered inside, and I saw a bedroom. The bed was made from the finest oak, and the blankets were knitted from the softest silk. More amazing pictures decorated the walls, and a desk stood nearby. There was another door opposite. I opened the door fully, and stepped inside curiously.

Just then, the other door burst open, and a man came tumbling through. He stared up at me angrily. He wore white knight armour, and a black eye patch. The eye I could see was a light brown. He held a white sword and a white shield in his armoured hands. He was rather muscled. His hair was a pitch black, and he had a rather bushy black goatee.

"Halt in the name of justice, peace and Falador in general!" he yelled, pointing his sword towards my neck. I put my hands up, rather scared. "My name is Jamie, and Commander Cedric told me to watch out for a bunch of intruders, and to kill them on sight. You have been caught in Sir Amik Varze's private sleeping quarters!" he yelled. The eye I could see was rolling. He snarled. "I hate people like you who decide to nose around our ancient castle! Let me take you to Sir Amik Varze's room."

"But we are…" I began, but Jamie interrupted me.

"Silence! I'll kill you!" he screamed. "Come with me!" I sighed, and gestured to the others to follow him.

He took us right back to Sir Amik Varze's office. When we walked inside, Capablanca was signing some forms. Sir Amik Varze looked up, surprised.

"Jamie, can I help you?" he asked, staring suspiciously at the sword being held to my neck. Cedric looked delighted for a split second, before seeing Sir Amik Varze's facial expression.

"Yes you can," he announced proudly. "I found the intruders Cedric was telling me about, and now I bring them to you." Sir Amik Varze gave Cedric an angry glance.

"Cedric lied," he confirmed. "This charming group of friends helped me get those turkeys out of my study." Jamie gave us a grin, dropping the sword immediately.

"I'm sorry," he said sadly. "I take my job seriously. When Cedric gave me a command, I stuck to it. I didn't mean to hurt you." I smiled at him.

"Don't worry about it," I assured him.

"You're not to blame," Slinky chipped in.

"How about I make up for it?" Jamie suggested. "Would you like a tour of the castle?" I nodded enthusiastically. Sir Amik Varze laughed heartily.

"OK then, Jamie, your job for the day is to give these friends of the white knights a tour they'll never forget," he said. Jamie jumped out of the office, and we followed happily.

"So, tell us a little bit about yourself," Amy11 said curiously, playing with her hair.

"Well, when I was a baby, the black knights killed my parents," he explained. "My mum was a cook for the castle, and my dad was a white knight commander. I can still remember them a little bit. They loved me so much. I've lived in this castle ever since. I desire revenge so badly. One of these days, the black knights will get their revenge!" he cried angrily. "I'm still rising through the ranks, but I soon hope to become the greatest fighter ever.

"Several months ago, there was a catastrophic war between the white and black knights. A lot of both sides were killed. One of the black knight lords got involved. There are five ranks in the black knight force-new warrior, warrior grunt (which is an average black knight), black knight darkness warrior, black knight commander, black knight lord, and the master. There are only four very strong lords- they are the right-hand men of the mysterious black knight master.

"Anyway, I'm straying off the point. In this war, the lord that got involved attacked me brutally. He stabbed me in the eye. It took a lot of medics to try and heal me, but I'm permanently blind in that eye. Medics say that my brain has been damaged, but I think not!" he retorted. He smashed into a wall by accident. He stood up, looking a bit dizzy. Osrie1 rolled his eyes at me. I chuckled quietly, and nodded.

"Anyway, I'm glad to have been pleasured with meeting you, Now we'll start the tour," he announced.

First stop was the white knight kitchens. The gleaming chequered floor was covered with brown feathers, obviously showing some sort of struggle. Several chefs ran around, holding different ingredients, preparing for the huge feast planned tonight. Shelves and cupboards full of ingredients covered the walls. Jamie coughed and turned around, obviously showing he didn't want to disturb the busy, busy chefs.

We went through several rooms- storage rooms for cooking ingredients and white knight suits of armour, offices, and a few bedrooms with tired white knights snoozing quietly in them. We finally arrived at a more interesting room.

"Welcome to the white knight library!" Jamie announced.

We were in, obviously, a massive library. Gleaming oak bookshelves full with huge, thick books towered above us. They were so tall ladders were necessary to get to the top shelves. Comfortable chairs and sofas surrounded us, with reading white knights sitting on some of them. A librarian stood behind a polished desk. I gasped in amazement at the colossal size of the place. The librarian shushed me.

We left the library. We went through a canteen which served the food the kitchen made for it, and we also went through a practice room full of dummies. After quite a bit of travelling, we went into what looked like a display room. Stuff up for display littered glass cabinets, with information on paper next to it. Jamie called it the white knight museum.

I passed a cabinet holding another mysterious orange shield with a claw mark on it. The piece of paper next to it read: _Information to be added._ I cursed under my breath; curious about the uses of this shield I kept seeing everywhere. Madrey1 had one, Duke Horacio had one, Sir Vant the white knight had one….

Speaking of Sir Vant, I passed a portrait of him and his helmet in a glass case. The piece of paper here read:

_Sir Vant was a powerful white knight who was like any other, apart for one thing- he's slain an extraordinary amount of creatures. He's slain the fifth black knight commander, leaving four. He's slain a king black dragon. He also destroyed a traitor of the white knights, who was secretly a black knight in disguise. He sacrificed his life to save somebody else, and will always be remembered._

I stared miserably at the portrait of the man who saved my life. I owe everything to him.

I continued on curiously, and saw a blue-tinged sword on display. It was a valuable historical artefact, according to the information. Several have been made, and apparently Sir Vant got one of them.

Just then, an arrow shot right over my shoulder. Another one dug right into my back. I screamed with agony, as pain throbbed in that one space. I yanked it out painfully, and turned around to face my attacker.

A woman stood there. She was a very beautiful woman. She wore a black dragon hide skirt which revealed quite a bit of cleavage. She held a smooth yew bow in her hand. Her lips, her eyes and her nails were a bright ruby red. On her back, she had a holder full of dragon arrows. She had a pouch on her skirt which had a poisoned dragon dagger in it. Her long black hair spilled behind her like a waterfall of dark, dark ink. She smiled seductively at me, and aimed another arrow at me.

Jamie jumped forward, and bowled her over, yelling.

"You're not hurting any of my friends!" he screamed. She smiled calmly, pushing him off her with absolutely no effort.

"Calm down, handsome," she purred. She was a real evil temptress. "Or I'll make you." She kissed him on the cheek, making a red lip mark appear. He groaned, and fell over, snoring softly. She must be wearing some sort of lipstick.

A strong, black-gloved person grabbed my arms from behind. I struggled, and craned my head around. It was Phantom. Madrey1 came from the doorway, sneering at me. Osrie1 yelled, and jumped towards him. He swung around, and punched him on the nose. Osrie1 fell back, knocked out. Madrey1 produced a rope from his pocket. He knocked everyone out, one by one, until he got to Mark.

Mark bellowed like an angry bull, and charged forward. The girl in black jumped up, and kicked Mark hard in the cheek. Mark was went back a couple of inches. The girl landed on Mark's shoulder, and kissed him on the cheek. Mark fell over, fast asleep.

Madrey1 stepped towards me, grinning evilly.

"What do you think of the brand new member of the Noob exterminators?" he chuckled. "Her name is Rogue, and she willingly came forward to help us." Rogue ran forward quickly, and stopped right next to Madrey1. She pranced forward, grinning seductively at me. I struggled, but the inevitable came anyway. She kissed me softly, not on the cheeks, but on the lips. I struggled to stop her, but Phantom's grip was too hard. She tasted like raspberries-probably the lipstick.

She broke it, giving me a wink as she cartwheeled away from me. I started feeling sleepy. I fell asleep in the end, after wrestling with tiredness for too long.

I woke up a few minutes later. A bell was ringing, and I was surrounded by faces. I stood up. Sir Amik Varze helped me up.

"Mainiac97," he said. "I'd look around you." I looked around. Of course, white knights stood everywhere. They'd helped all of my friends out of the rope after they regained consciousness.

I noticed why a bell was ringing. Several glass cases had been smashed, the contents missing. The Noob Exterminators had robbed the museum. I kicked myself mentally for letting them get away. I felt a surge of anger as I saw the glass case holding the portrait of Sir Vant had been smashed, and the portrait had been vandalized. Stink lines and fake moustaches had been drawn on childishly. I felt like snapping Madrey1's neck right now. I wished I still had my skull sceptre.

I hated Rogue very, very much. At the same time, it was hard not to love her. She was very seductive and sexy. She was a real slick lady; that was for sure.

After a while, and a little bit of questioning, we were allowed to leave the scene. I'd told everyone about Rogue, and what she did. Everyone, especially Jamie, hated her.

We finished the tour off. Jamie showed us the sword storerooms, the commander suite, and some more bedrooms and the staff sleeping quarters. We had passed several rooms we weren't allowed to enter, and several not worth mentioning. We explored up several towers, which included attack posts.

At the end of the tour, we arrived at a large stone door. There were no handles, knobs, or even locks, just carvings of strange, random shapes. Apparently, only Sir Armik Varze and a few chosen commanders could enter.

"I don't know much about what's in here," Jamie explained. "All I've been told is that what is in here is called the 'Eye of Saradomin', whatever that means." I nodded seriously.

We walked out on a balcony, and what I saw was beautiful. The sky was exploding with the colours of the sunset- oranges, blue, pinks and purples combined to make a beautiful colour. The idyllic countryside was spread out in front of me like a blanket. If I stuck my head out the window, and looked around, I could see a glint of marble-the bustling town of Falador.

"Come on; let us go to the feast. It should be starting about now," Jamie said. We followed him, intent on enjoying the rest of the night, with hopefully no sign of Madrey1, Phantom, or the beautiful but evil Rogue.

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_Well, that is done and dusted._

_You're probably wondering where on earth my story dissappeared to. I've deleted it by accident, long story short, and I needed to reupload it. If you are still interested in reading, I'm afraid you may have to re-subscribe to keep getting the alerts. I hope I get a load of reviews to make up for the lost ones._

_The competiton...._

_4th place: Rogue13_

_3rd place: Dream Decay_

_2nd place: Ninjamouse1_

_1st place: Jamie_

_Everyone who took part was amazing, but these people won._

_Until next time, toodles!_


	60. Chapter 60: Thanksgiving Feast

_This chapter is small and insignificant, I know. Excuses, explinations, and some other stuff are at the bottom. enjoy!**

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_**Chapter 60: Thanksgiving Feast**_

I walked down the marble spiral staircase. It was getting dark now, and the Thanksgiving feast that the white knights were holding was starting soon. Jamie, our new friend, led the way; looking happier then I'd ever seen him look before. We were going to have a long night, with much celebration.

Even though the mood of celebration infected everybody like an unstoppable disease, a shadow lingered in the air, in the form of the Noob Exterminators, along with their new member, the sexy, unstoppable Rogue. I remembered, with a twinge of anger, their taunting faces as they robbed the white knight museum.

We arrived at the bottom of the stairs, and turned a corner. There was a closed oak-panelled door, with a white knight standing by it, looking extremely bored. I could hear the low thump of music from behind the door.

"Hello, and welcome to the white knight Thanksgiving feast," he droned dully, as if he'd memorised this, and said it a hundred times before. "May you please show us your identity or an invitation?"

Jamie stepped forward, and flourished a small card with his details on it that he needed as a white knight. The white knight by the door nodded, and allowed us all to pass.

The moment I stepped inside the feast hall, I was flabbergasted. A huge table filled most of the hall, and this table was absolutely crammed with the most delicious of foods. Several huge turkeys lay there on large golden platters. Huge glass bowls of salad were also a common sight on the table. Plates of bread, hunks of meat, and several huge platters of vegetables and potatoes covered the vast size of the table.

The RuneScape Rockers that I saw in the Easter party in Varrock were performing a very quick-paced song on a stage up ahead. A wooden dance floor dominated the area in front of the stage, with several happy couples dancing to the music. White knights stood guard around the edge of the room, watching out for trouble. A bar on our side of the room sold drinks. It would open later on.

I smiled, feeling at peace at last. I offered my arm to Amy11. She smiled, and accepted it. I knew I wasn't a good dancer, but did I care? No.

I danced around the floor with Amy11, not caring how many times I trod on her toes. When we finished our dance, I had a quick dance with Slinky, who gracefully danced around with me. After that, I went to the table to tuck into some food.

There was so much choice, I couldn't choose. I settled on two turkey drumsticks, several potatoes and lumps of meat, a small portion of salad, and a topping of delicious gravy. I dug in, really enjoying my delicious meal. Amy11 stared at me with disgust, as she nibbled on a piece of carrot. I looked at her, confused.

The night wore on. The RuneScape Rockers played several different melodies, the instruments blending together to make the most beautiful music ever known to man.

As I stared appreciatively at the band, I noticed someone staring at me from the corner of my vision. I turned around to face the offending person. It was a man who was rather tall, and painfully thin. He had messy dark brown hair like the end of a mop, and brown eyes with a hopeless, dead, dank look. He wore baggy black clothes, and a rather long black cape. He wore sturdy leather boots. A steel sword hung from a holster on his black clothes. When he noticed I'd seen him, he bolted to the door faster then anything else I'd seen, and ran off.

I was confused. Who was this dodgy man? Why did he run off? Why did they even let him in the party? Questions buzzed around my brain like angry bees.

The bar opened, and there was a mad rush. I groaned in frustration as I waited in queue to buy drinks for everyone.

Ten minutes later, I arrived at the front. A white knight stared at me, looking bored out of his mind already.

"Hello, what can I get you?" he asked robotically.

"Can I have two fruit blast cocktails, three beers, a wizard's mind bomb, and two dragon bitters please?" I asked, looking at the menu hanging overhead. He sighed, and prepared all the drinks in a flurry of hands, beer taps and glasses. Sooner or later, a row of drinks stood in front of me. I sighed, thinking about how on earth I was going to carry them all. Cedric sniggered from behind me.

I lost it at that moment. I swung around and punched him on the nose. He staggered back, blood dripping from his broken nose.

"You….punched me," he gasped. "Nobody who isn't a black knight has punched me before." I balled my fist, prepared to knock his pathetic taunting jaw off. He pulled up his white knight shield, grinning evilly. "You do realise I have the power to expel you and your stupid little friends from this castle, and this city forever," he taunted. Several white knights led by Jamie marched forward.

"Cedric, please don't wind him up," Jamie said. Cedric snorted.

"You can't tell me what to do," he chuckled. "That's my job." Jamie looked angry at this. Before anything worse could happen, Cedric decided to back off. Muttering to himself, he walked out of the party. I and Jamie gathered up the drinks, paid for them, and returned to our friends.

"Finally, I'm thirsty as can be!" Capablanca yelled. Mark nodded in agreement. I handed the fruit blasts to the girls (Amy11 and Slinky), a beer to Aaron and another one to Jamie, the dragon bitters to Capablanca and to Mark, and the wizard's mind bomb to Osrie1. I kept the other beer, and drunk deeply from it. It tasted sweet, but bitter in my mouth, and I started feeling dizzy.

The rest of the night was a blur. I danced, ate, drunk, watched, and even kissed a little with the girls in our group. Sooner or later, dozens of waiters came out to take away the massive empty plated which once held food. They returned with a delicious sight- bowls of cream and fruit, pots of chocolate and strawberry sauces, mountains of chocolate balls, dishes of tasty pies with berries, chocolate and apple, plates of trifle and cakes of all sorts-it was indescribable. My mouth watered at the sight of all this very, very delicious food.

Of course, I ate some more until I felt sick. Everything was equally delicious. I would never forget the creamy taste of the trifle, the juicy flesh of the apples, and the warm filling of the pies. I left the castle that night, full of food and happiness.

A thought struck me as we walked across the castle bridge. We'd said our goodbyes to Sir Amik Varze and Jamie for the day at the castle exit, since they slept inside the castle, and told us they couldn't allow us to unless we were white knights. Capablanca decided to come with us.

"Where are we going to sleep?" I wondered aloud. The others stopped. Capablanca spoke.

"In my house," he answered. "It has enough rooms and beds-I haven't been in it since we were in Lumbridge, so it might be a bit dusty." I nodded. This seemed like a satisfactory conclusion to the day.

Capablanca led us into the town square. The night was black, and dotted with shining stars, and the air was chilly. There weren't many people in the square, but the bar opposite us seemed bustling with noise, sound and behaviour. Capablanca led us through several streets. We passed a bank or two, and huge gardens that I was too tired and drunk to examine properly.

After a while, we arrived at a house. It had three floors, and seemed pretty normal. Like everything else in this city, it was made from shining pale marble. Capablanca fiddled with some keys, and unlocked the door. We rushed past him inside.

It was rather plain. Cream wallpaper and red carpets surrounded the area. I looked inside the living room. Brown chairs and couches stood everywhere, along with several glass tables. The kitchen was made from marble tiles, with a few cookers, a larder, and a table with several chairs for eating. Looking up the stairs, I saw several rooms which were obviously bathrooms and bedrooms. Capablanca ran up the stairs with pieces of paper, and ran back town.

"I've written names on those pieces of paper, and stuck them to the doors. Those will be your rooms," he explained. I nodded, thanked him, patted him on the back, and ran upstairs.

One of the first rooms was mine. 'Mainiac97 and Osrie1' was written on the paper in Capablanca's untidy scrawl. I ran inside, and there was more cream walls and red carpet. I liked the design of the place. Two comfortable-looking beds sat there. I threw my bag into a corner, and jumped onto a bed. As I stared outside at the streets, I'm sure I saw a mysterious figure wearing black, staring up at the house with gaunt, dead eyes before I fell to sleep. It was the same man from the party-who was he? Why was he following us?

* * *

_Thanks for reading, and please review with opinions and advice!_

_Why this was so short. I wanted to have a chapter in itself for the feast, because there was so much description, developing cedric's character, and introducing a new charater. Who could it be, hmm, the man with gaunt, dead eyes?_

_Well, it's the end of the Thanksgiving line, even though it's approx 2 weeks late. I started it, was very busy, and only now finish it. I didn't have time to proofread it, so it may have some errors. If so, let me know and I shall edit._

_Look foward to Christmas, coming up next! merry Christmas, one and alL! *dances to jingle bell rock*_

_Until next time, toodles!_

_P.S. Are my ANs too long? but I have a LOT to say...._


	61. Chapter 61: Let It Snow!

_Ho ho ho! Merry Christmas 2009! Notes at bottom.**

* * *

**_

_**Chapter 61: Let It Snow!**_

Two weeks wore by, and the weather steadily got colder and colder, and wetter and wetter. Sir Amik Varze, an expert in weather, told me it was perfectly natural, considering the time of year. Excitement was filling my stomach slowly-it was Christmas. Christmas last year was one of the best experiences I ever had on RuneScape. Everything, from the beautiful decorations, to the delicious food, to even the wonderful gifts, was absolutely amazing. The only thing that I could say was bad about Christmas was the unexpected visit from Jack Frost….

Sir Amik Varze described this feeling as 'the Christmas spirit'. Everything about Christmas was worth looking forward to.

Decorations were coming up, one by one. A colossal Christmas tree decorated with enchanted lights, tinsel and baubles were put up in town square. The houses were decorated with lights powered by magic, and you could see the Christmas trees inside the windows. Sir Amik Varze spent a whole day decorating the huge marble castle. It was now covered with tinsel, the statues and suits of armour wore Santa hats, and several beautiful trees covered with lights and baubles were put up. Even Cedric reluctantly joined in the decorating, muttering 'humbug' to himself every now and then. Christmas would come in only a few days!

One morning, I woke up. I yawned, stretched, and rubbed my eyes. I turned around. The time was 7:30am, according to my clock. Osrie1 was snoring loudly in the bed opposite. I grumbled to him, and threw a pillow at him. He snorted, and leaped up, yelling. He slipped off the bed, and roared at me. He ran towards me, holding a pillow in his hands firmly. I was whacked repeatedly across the head with it. When Osrie1 finally calmed down, he apologised, and went back to bed, snoring again after half a minute. I sighed in frustration, and gave up.

I went to the window, and grinned wide at the sight I saw. It has snowed overnight! The ground outside was completely covered with a blanket of thick, white snow. Amy11 and Slinky were outside, laughing, throwing snowballs at each other, while Mark and Aaron were busy building snowmen, competing to see who could build the bigger snowman. Mark had put his granite armour on his, and it looked on the verge of collapsing with all the weight on it.

"It's snowing!" I yelled. I grabbed my weapon belt and my bag, slipped on my stronghold of security boots, and ran downstairs, two at a time. I ran into the kitchen, nearly sliding on the tiles. Capablanca was by the stove, making some egg and meat, tinsel wrapped around his shoulders, humming a carol to himself. He nodded at me, wished me a merry Christmas, and handed me a plate of meat and eggs. I wolfed the food down, handed the plate back to Capablanca, thanking him. I ran out the house, hatching a plan in my brain. I shivered as a massive gust of freezing cold air hit my face. Shivering, I ran down the street, while the others shouted for me to come back.

I ran into the nearest bank, gasping for air. The bank was also decorated with tinsel and a small tree in the corner. The receptionist was wearing Rudolph antlers on her head. She smiled kindly at me.

"Have a merry Christmas. Can I help you?" she asked, smiling politely and shuffling some papers in front of her.

"Can I access my bank account please?" I asked. She nodded, and pushed some buttons. The familiar stone table with red buttons with numbers on them appeared in front of me. I typed in my bank code, and my account opened up in front of me. I looked towards the shelf housing all of my event items. I picked up my Santa outfit, which was folded neatly. I also picked up my snow globe, having a plan on how I could use it. I also picked up the reindeer antlers Diango gave me as one of my two rewards I didn't pick up before. I took off my armour, doubting I'd need it on the happiest time of the year. I put the armour in my bag, and put on the suit and the antlers. I thanked the receptionist, and rushed out of the bank, nearly slipping on the snow. I took a moment to look around me. The city looked like it jumped out of a Christmas card, there was so much snow.

I ran back inside Capablanca's house, and back to our room. I stepped up to Osrie1, who was still snoring soundly in his bed. I sniggered, and shook the globe above him. The snow flew around the globe merrily, but then a hole opened up at the top, and snow poured out. Osrie1 bounced out of his bed, coughing and spluttering, like a jack-in-the-box. He looked comical, covered in snow, glaring daggers at me. He picked up a lump of snow, and threw it in my laughing mouth. I coughed, and to avoid a fight, I ran out the room. Osrie1 followed me, holding more snow, snarling.

I ran outside, and, dodging Osrie1's snowballs, I started building, not a snowman, but a snow-mainiac97. I tried really hard to reconstruct myself, only ending up horribly destroying my snow twin. I stared forlornly at the ugly creature I'd built, as my friends roared with laughter.

I enjoyed spending the rest of the morning, and some of the afternoon, building snowmen, having snowball fights, and trying and failing to build igloos. As I ran around, laughing, I saw the shadow of a man flicker in the corner of my vision. I turned around, only to see a retreating black figure. I gave chase.

I followed the mysterious figure through several labyrinths of houses, until I finally caught him. I grabbed his cloak, and he slipped in the snow, grunting. I looked closer at him, and he was actually the mysterious man from the Thanksgiving feast. "Leave me be!" he screamed. With a wave of his hand, black light blasted me back. I collapsed in a huge heap of snow, spluttering and shivering. I looked up, and the figure was gone.

I decided to visit Sir Amik Varze and Jamie. I went in the direction of the white knight castle, and was amazed at the sight. The castle was completely covered in snow. It blanketed the turrets, the roofs, and the windowsills. Even more amazing, the moat surrounding the castle had frozen solid! Tonnes and tonnes of ice covered what was once a moat. Someone had put a ladder by the bridge, and people were skating on the ice. I jumped up and down excitedly, and ran down. I climbed down the ladder, and started moving around on the ice. I slipped, and the ice around me cracked. I gulped, and the ice smashed around me. A firm grip held on to my Santa shirt before I could sink along with the cracked ice. I turned around, and was faced with the steely, hard grin of Irish the steel shop shopkeeper. He was wearing a Santa hat. Strange, really, since I heard Santa hats were ridiculously expensive.

"You need ice skates, special shoes, if you want to come on here. Be more careful in the future. Merry Christmas, and a happy new year," he told me, before skating off. I took note on what the skates looked like- large leather shoes with bits of metal sticking out of them.

I slipped back to the ladder, climbing up. I wondered where I could get skates from sadly. I went inside the castle, looking forward to a nice chat with Jamie and Sir Amik Varze, my new friends.

* * *

_I understand this is a short chapter, so you don't need to point it out to me, but I am full of Christmas spirit. I wanted to channel it into something, so I thought 'Why not channel it into a fanfic chappy, so others can experience the joy I'm feeling?' This is just an introduction to Christmas and to get others in the mood too._

_Obviously, next chapter will be the proper Christmas chapter. please note, I may not like the event jagex thinks up, so I may change it slightly, but I will stick to the main theme, which I believe is Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol'. I look foward to it a lot._

_merry Xmas and a happy new year!_

_Until next time, toodles!™_

_Notice that ™ up there? Take the hint! haha._


	62. Chapter 62: Bah Humbug! Part One

_**Chapter 62: Bah Humbug! Part One**_

I walked back into Capablanca's house, sopping wet and covered with snow. Lunch had been prepared-turkey sandwiches lay on the table on plates in the kitchen. I sat down, picked one up from a nearby plate, and munched on it enthusiastically.

Sooner or later the kitchen filled up with people. Jamie walked in too, since Capablanca had invited him over. After ten minutes, the plates of sandwiches were empty, and crumbs lay everywhere. Capablanca smiled at the chattering people, and picked up the plate, scooping up the crumbs.

There was a loud knock at the door. I and Jamie sat up curiously, and followed Capablanca out to the door. He opened it slightly to see who it was, and the chilly wind blew it straight open.

A man stood there. He was short and wrinkly, and his nose was long and crooked. He had unforgiving black eyes, and he had a permanent frown plastered on his miserable face. He was wrapped up in warm black woollen clothes, and he wore a top hat which looked really expensive. In his hands he held a thin, brown wand and a small black book. He had greying hair and a small grey beard.

"I'm here to collect my tax," he snapped. "If I recall correctly, you owe me a total of 769gp." Capablanca smiled nervously, and gave him a small leather pouch full of coins. The man counted the coins. He snorted.

"You're not fooling me, you young hooligan," he snapped. "You still owe me the 23gp you didn't cough up last week! I want my money, or I'm kicking you and your filthy friends out of that house!" He seemed to bristle with fury. Capablanca stuttered an apology at the ranting old man, and felt in his pocket for more coins. He handed the man the coins. The man counted the coins.

"8gp short," he muttered grimly. "I'll let you go this time, but if you don't have DOUBLE that money next time I see you, I'll have you and your friends out on the streets, freezing to death. Please sign here," he then said, handing Capablanca the book and a writing quill. Capablanca signed his name.

"Very well, sir," Capablanca said. "Merry Christmas, sir."

"Bah, humbug. You can keep your 'Merry Christmas' and I know where you can stuff it," the miserable old man snapped. At that, he slammed the door, leaving Capablanca staring at it in shock. I stepped up, patting him on the shoulder.

"Who was that man?" I asked. Jamie stepped forward.

"I'll field that question," he said. "That man is known as Ebenezer Scrooge. He owns a lot of land in these areas, and he charges people huge amounts of money to live there. He is a horrible, grumpy old man who lives in a mansion. Nobody likes him. He's quite a magician, too," he added.

"Why is he so horrible?" I asked, concerned. Jamie shook his head sadly.

"Nobody really knows," Jamie said. I nodded sadly.

I felt sorry for Scrooge. He was obviously very lonely and miserable if he could act so harshly towards his fellow men, Christmas and himself. I wanted to help him.

Just at that moment, there was a knock at the door. Capablanca opened it warily, and found a little snow imp staring up at him. The blue creature brought back fond memories of last year. The snow imp jumped up joyfully, and stuffed several blue envelopes into Capablanca's hand. The door was closed by another chilly wind.

We opened the envelopes eagerly. Pieces of paper decorated with snowflakes and Christmas trees fell out. I read one. It read:

_We heartily invite you to our Christmas feast in the land of snow. Great food and celebration awaits you! Signed, Santa Claus, the ice queen, and prince Jack Frost. In Draynor village, Varrock and Falador, enchanted cupboards will give you entrance. You'll find them in the squares of the respective settlements._

The invitations were for only me, Capablanca, Jamie (for some reason, probably because he was a white knight) and Osrie1, because we probably helped out last year.

"Why were you invited, and not everybody else?" I asked Jamie.

"I helped her a few years ago involving rampaging snowmen," he explained. I nodded sadly, disappointed that my other friends couldn't come.

On the other hand, I was delighted to be a VIP invite to a Christmas feast hosted by the ice queen herself! She must have remembered us from last year.

We left after ten minutes, apologising to the others, promising to bring something nice back. We walked down the snow-covered streets, playfully chucking snowballs at each other.

We finally arrived at the town square, and we were surprised. Right next to the giant Christmas tree was an open cupboard. Snow was pouring out of it, along with white light. A snow imp stood next to it, checking invitations and letting people jump in. There was a rather long queue, and Sir Amik Varze and Cedric were waiting at the end, both clutching invitations. We joined them. Sir Amik Varze spun around joyfully to face us.

After what felt like hours on end, we arrived at the cupboard. Cedric was first in line. The imp took his invitation, and stopped him as he proceeded to enter the cupboard.

"Sorry sir, but this invitation isn't valid. There's no seal of authenticity on the back, plus several decorations are missing, and the snowflakes are the wrong colour," the imp explained, sounding bored. "It's obvious forgery. As Cedric tried to explain himself, the imp sighed. With a blast of freezing cold air, Cedric was blasted back into a pile of snow.

Sir Amik Varze, Osrie1, Jamie and Capablanca were allowed entry. The imp grabbed my invitation, checked it, and gestured for me to jump in. I obliged. I bent my knees, and threw myself in head-first.

I gasped as a gust of cold wind picked me up. I looked behind me, and the cupboard entrance had disappeared in a lot of white light. I was forced to close my eyes is I was blinded by light and snowflakes. The freezing cold winds howled in my ears as I was carted away by it.

The next second, I was face-first in snow. The first thing I heard was screaming. I looked up.

I was in a fenced enclosure, obviously the place where the party was. Behind me, past the fence, was a snowy field, and beyond that there was a forest of snow-covered evergreen trees. Ahead of me were two huge, empty oak tables, with a lot of chairs surrounding. Snow covered the floor, and it was still snowing lightly. Beyond the fence past that, there was a dark, snow-covered mountainous region

People ran around frantically, screaming their heads off. Snow imps surrounded the area, calmly trying to stop the frantic crowd.

A sleigh stood in one corner of the enclosure, and in the other corner a huge decorated Christmas tree stood. On one end of the enclosure, a blue tent stood, and on the other end, a fountain spouted crystal-clear water. I stopped a snow imp as he passed. He gave me a cold stare. A man wearing reindeer antlers ran past me, screaming 'CHRISTMAS IS RUINED!' at the top of his voice.

"Can I help you?" he asked me coolly.

"What's going on?" I questioned. I spotted Osrie1, Jamie, Capablanca, and Sir Amik Varze discussing in a corner.

"Well, the feast was about to start, when a blast of smoke startled everybody. When the smoke cleared, all the food had disappeared, and so had Santa, one of the main organisers of the feast," the imp explained calmly, although he did sound a bit shaken. I gasped. How awful! The food was gone, and even worse, Santa had been kidnapped!

"Do you have any idea who did it?" I asked curiously. He shook his head sadly.

"We're suspecting Ebenezer Scrooge, who lives on the highest hill over there, but we can't barge in there and catch him without any evidence," the imp said, pointing towards the mountainous regions. I squinted towards there, and I saw a dark-looking mansion on the highest hill.

I thought for a moment. Wasn't Scrooge the grumpy old man who demanded tax at Capablanca's house? I never knew he lived in the land of snow. I would have suspected he would do something like steal all the food, and kidnap Santa. If I remembered correctly, all he had to offer at Capablanca's 'merry Christmas', was a 'bah, humbug'. He was obviously rich if he could afford a mansion in these areas. No wonder he's rich, considering the amount of money he charged Capablanca for living in one of many houses he owned in the area.

"We'll help you find evidence," I suggested. The imp gave me a rather cold, but grateful smile.

"Allow me and my friends to silence this crowd first," he said. He grabbed a lump of snow from the ground, and it shifted itself into an icy cone-like loud speaker. Using his small blue wings, he flew onto the table.

"SILENCE!" he bellowed, and the loud speaker amplified his voice so it echoed around the area. Everyone stopped instantly. "Please remain calm. We're working hard to try and get everything back to normal." There was a ripple of muttering, and people stopped screaming, and began chatting nervously. The imp jumped off the table, and hopped towards us.

"I'll help you search," he said. So we began searching through the snow for any evidence.

We searched and searched and searched some more. I was feeling bored, but I remembered the kidnapped Santa, who was the kindest person I'd ever had the fortune to meet, and I kept searching. My hands were numb with cold, but I was relentless in my search.

After at least twenty minutes of relentless searching, I found something. I looked at it curiously, picking it up with almost-frozen fingers. It was a small, black book. It looked very familiar….I opened it, and it was full of paper with signatures on them. At one page, Capablanca's signature was there. It clicked. This was Scrooge's tax money book! I ran towards the rest of the group, who were still searching for evidence.

"I found something!" I yelled. They all looked up. I showed them the book, and Capablanca's signature. The snow imp jumped up.

"That's the evidence we need!" he shouted excitedly. "Let's make our way to his house!" I was about to complain about the huge walk from here, through the mountains, to his mansion, but suddenly we disappeared in a puff of freezing cold steam.

I was dragged through what felt like a snowy abyss. Snow swirled around me so thick I couldn't see. Then, I landed with a thump on tarmac.

I looked up, and the sky above me was a dark grey. The grass and tarmac was covered with snow, and it was still snowing lightly. I spluttered, and shook the snow off me. I looked up, and saw an ominous, grey, dirty mansion. The windows were smeared with filth, and the roof tiles were coming off. Everyone else appeared around me in puffs of cold steam. We sat up, and walked up to the door almost-confidently.

The imp ran up to me, jumped on my shoulder, and whispered something in my ear. I sniggered. It was a plan of action. The imp knew all of Scrooge's fears, and planned to use them against him. I was to be dressed up as a ghost, and sent into his room to scare him. The imp would do some trickery to make it more convincing. He went to everybody, and whispered the plan in their ears. They all had an equal reaction-sniggering and chuckling.

I stepped up to the large dirty oak door, and knocked four times.

The door swung open ominously. I stepped in nervously. Tension hung in the air like a reluctant bat.

We were in a filthy front hall. The floor, walls…everything was coated in a thick layer of dust and dirt. Whenever we walked, dust rose from the ground. A bookshelf stood next to us, as well as two doors. There was a large staircase on the opposite side of the room. Spiders crawled around. That reminded me-I left Eek in the house, and right now he was sleeping soundly on my pillow. I'm glad he didn't come, or I would have squished him by accident while teleporting and landing.

Right ahead of us, in a rather small, rusty cage, Santa Claus was crushed inside. Grime smudged his face, and his usually jolly expression was replaced with a rather glum look. The imp, as part of the plan, rushed past the cage giving it a sad sideways look, and into a different room.

"Help me," Santa choked. I was about to reply, but a sour voice boomed through the house.

"Don't talk to him!" the voice barked. I backed off nervously. In a puff of smoke, Scrooge stood in front of us, his wrinkly old face showing disgust. "What are you doing in my house?" he demanded. I stepped forward.

"You were suspected as the person who stole the food at the feast, and kidnapped Santa Claus, and the evidence is right in front of me, and this was found at the scene of the crime," I shouted, brandishing the black book. Scrooge sniggered.

"What are you going to do about it, loser? I've done this, and Christmas will be ruined," he taunted, pulling his wand out of his black woollen clothes. I growled, and went to grab my barbarian stone hammer. But, I remembered the plan, and put it back. Scrooge laughed.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to take a nap. Oh, yeah, thanks for finding my book," he announced, snatching the book out of my grip, marching up the stairs, going inside the room at the top, and slamming the door.

The imp re-appeared, holding a bundle of blankets, chains, and thread, with a pair of scissors on top. He held a needle in his mouth. He dropped everything at my feet.

"We'll turn this into a costume," he announced. He grabbed the needle, some thread, and the scissors, as well as a blanket, and began working.

After several minutes of work, some sinister-looking robes lay in front of me. The snow imp looked triumphant. I stared at them, relishing this moment. I picked them up, and put them on. All this time, Santa stared at us thoughtfully from his cage. I turned around to face him. He jumped up, startled, banging his head on the bars in the process.

"Don't you like my knitting skills, that the ice queen taught all the imps?" the snow imp boasted.

"Don't worry, we'll get you out of there soon," I soothed, addressing Santa. He nodded, too terrified to speak. I stared into a nearby dusty mirror, and almost jumped. I looked terrifying. My hood hung over my face in a way that shrouded my face with shadows. I looked genuinely scary. The imp grinned. He picked up his loud speaker. "Remember, let me do the talking. You just stand there and do hand gestures," he hissed. I left my bag at the bottom of the stairs, only bringing the snow globe and my Easter hammer (as part of the plan). He tiptoed up the stairs, me following him. He opened the door slightly, and tiptoed inside. I peeped inside.

* * *

_Merry Christmas!_

_I hope you liked the way I made the evnt. the whole thing was too long, so I split it into two chapters. expect the second half to be up to be up in the next few days (obviously, it won't be up on Christmas day itself)._

_Until next time, toodles!_

_P.S. I don't own Charles Dickens, RuneScape, A Christmas carol, or any of the characters._


	63. Chapter 63: Bah Humbug! Part Two

_**Chapter 63: Bah Humbug! Part Two**_

I left my bag at the bottom of the stairs, only bringing the snow globe and my Easter hammer (as part of the plan). He tiptoed up the stairs, me following him. He opened the door slightly, and tiptoed inside. I peeped inside.

There was a large red mat on the floor. This room was the cleanest in the house- everything, from the small table and chair that sat in the corner, to the bells that stood on the wall to the left of me, to the oak four-poster bed that Scrooge laid in, snoring, was polished.

I looked around for the imp, and after straining my eyes slightly I saw the transparent figure of the imp. He was camouflaged! He'd cast a spell on himself so Scrooge wouldn't notice him. He gave me the thumbs up, holding up his loud speaker. I saw him reach towards the bell string, and pull on it.

The bells rung loudly, making the room vibrate, giving a cue to everyone downstairs. Scrooge bounced out of his bed, grunting. He was wearing thin black nightclothes. He stared, confused, as the bells apparently rung by themselves. He got up, and walked towards them. I had to hold back a laugh as the snow imp stuck his leg out, making Scrooge trip up.

Scrooge was beginning to panic. I saw the camouflaged figure of the snow imp run over to the window to my right, and open it. Snow flew in, and it startled Scrooge.

"Who's there?" he demanded. I saw the figure of the imp hold the loud speaker to his mouth.

"Scrooge….." he rumbled in the deepest voice he could muster. I gave the thumbs up to Osrie1, who was holding the chains. Osrie1 began dragging the chains upstairs, making a racket. "Scrooge…." The imp repeated, in the same evil, deep tone.

Scrooge was bouncing around, obviously terrified. At hearing the sound of chains being dragged upstairs, he bounced towards the door, slammed it (not knowing I was behind it), and I heard locks click. Osrie1 handed me the chains when he arrived at the top. I wrapped them around myself. They were heavy, and difficult to carry. I got my Easter carrot hammer, and smashed the door to the ground with it.

I put it away hastily. I stepped over the wreckage of the door, trying to look as eerie as possible. Scrooge's eyes bulged at the sight of me. He was cradling himself in the corner of the room.

"W-w-who are y-you-u?" he asked nervously, stuttering. The snow imp bounced towards the bells, and stopped them ringing. Scrooge stared as the bells seemingly stopped ringing by themselves (to him).

"You know who I am," the imp said in the loud speaker, in the deep, booming voice. We were supposed to fool Scrooge that I was saying that. I couldn't muster that voice in my life, but the imp could.

"No, I d-d-don't," Scrooge stuttered. I grinned. I loved teaching a miserable old man the error of his ways.

"I am Jacob Marley." the imp announced, the same deep, gruff voice. "In life, I was your work partner." Scrooge stopped shuddering, and stood up. He laughed.

"Don't be ridiculous," he chuckled. "Marley died years ago. You're a fraud, playing a trick on me." The imp roared, giving me my signal. I mustered all my strength, and raised the chains. A small enchantment from the imp made the chains levitate. The imp ran over to the window, and opened it again, still roaring. Snow poured in through the open window, again. Scrooge ran over to the window, and closed it, and fell to his knees at my feet.

"Please stop!" he cried. "I believe you! You are a ghost, come to haunt me! But…" he hesitated. "How can I be sure that you are the ghost of my deceased business partner?" The imp chuckled, and stopped the enchantment that was making the chains levitate. They fell to the round with an ear-splitting thump.

"I remember clearly. We were business partners, and we had similar ambitions. But we were equally greedy, and that was our downfall. Do you remember how dearly you loved the queen of ice? But, your greed and love of money disgusted her, and that's why she refused to marry you, and married Nicholas, also known as Santa Claus. His goodwill appealed more to her then your selfishness. Ebenezer Scrooge, allow me to take you on a trip through the past," he wheezed in his fake deep voice. Scrooge's eyes misted over, and the ice imp groaned.

"Finally," he moaned, in his usual cool, light voice, although he was still camouflaged. "I can rest my poor voice box." I shushed him.

"Scrooge is going to hear you," I hissed. The imp shook his head.

"He's hallucinating," the imp explained. "I'm showing him visions of his murky past. He can't hear us at all. After a minute, when his eyes return to normal, that means he's back here."

I waited for a minute as Scrooge twitched and wailed on the floor. His eyes returned to their normal colour, and he stood up to face me sourly.

"I understand that you're Jacob Marley, and that you've come back, but why? Plus, what are those chains you wear around you?" he demanded. The imp cleared his throat, and spoke again in his ghost voice.

"These chains, I forged in life," he growled. "Link by link, I made it. Every sin you commit makes one link. Yours was the same size as mine when I died. Now, it is a magnificent size! Plus, this awful act of treachery, kidnap, and theft has almost DOUBLED it in size! Truly, it is one HELL of a chain!" the imp guffawed. Scrooge shuddered.

"How can I stop it?" he demanded. "There must be some way of stopping my chain from growing!" The imp grinned.

"That is why I'm here," he growled in his deep, throaty voice. "I'm here to offer you a way of changing. Allow me to show you the Christmas present."

Suddenly, I was blown off my feet by a chilly wind. This must be the imp's magic. The wind carried me into a white light, and I felt like, yet again, I was flying through a snowy abyss. I saw the figure of Scrooge and the transparent figure of the imp flying nearby.

We were back at the feast, but this time we were floating above, surveying. People were sitting grimly at the table, staring at where the food would be. The ice queen sat at one end in a throne made from solid ice, and she seemed pretty miserable. Sir Amik Varze, who'd decided to stay behind to watch the feast, was staring blankly into space, and looking very sad. After a minute, we reappeared back in Scrooge's bedroom. The imp cleared his throat.

"You see how much misery you've caused?" the imp asked in the same deep voice. Scrooge chuckled.

"Seriously, after a lifetime being me, you become hardened to that sort of stuff," Scrooge guffawed. "You've shown me Christmas past and present. Neither shift any emotion or remorse inside me. I _was_ in love with the ice queen. Not any more. Why would I want to marry a stupid cow who runs off with the first fat old man she comes across? As for Christmas present, you've just shown me the righteousness of my actions! All those rich snobs….serves them right!" he commented, not realising how much of a hypocrite he was.

The imp seemed to be stuck for ideas as to what to say. Scrooge snorted.

"Nothing to say?" he snickered silently. "Good. As for you, good old Marley, I think it's time for you to shift." he pulled his wand out of his night robes, and shot a black, sinister-looking spell at me.

I had to think instantaneously. The imp was stuck for ideas, but wouldn't Christmas Future be sinister and silent? So, thinking quickly, I wished the emote I received in the stronghold, where the massive shield would appear for a split second, then disappear, would come. I thought about it with all my might, letting all other thoughts evaporate. Suddenly, the massive red and yellow shield came from nowhere.

The spell hit the shield, and was deflected. It hit the chair, making it burst into flames and collapse. The shield disappeared. Scrooge fell back, gasping with shock.

"How did you do that?" he choked. I shook my fist angrily at him. The ice imp went to say something, but I put my finger to my mouth, signalling for him to shut up and let me take over. I used the trick emote, and bats poured from my body. Scrooge yelped with fright, and ran towards the window to open it, so the bats could fly out. I pulled my arm into my sleeve, out of Scrooge's sight, and shook the snow globe. Snow fluttered around the globe merrily, but a hole opened up, and snow poured out, giving the impression that my body was overflowing with snow to Scrooge.

Literally screaming, he fell to my knees.

"Mercy!" he sobbed. "Please! You've proved your power, so I shan't attempt to destroy you. You've given me news of Christmas past and present, I presume you'll show me a Christmas yet to come?" he enquired. I nodded eerily.

I didn't know what to do. I'd done my part in frightening Scrooge, and now I was stuck. While scrooge stared at me, confused, I thought. What would a miserly old miser have as his future? I thought, and decided he would die a lonely death. That gave me an idea. But how could I convey it to the imp without revealing everything? It clicked. I shook the snow globe and used the trick emote at exactly the same time. Scrooge was barraged with bats and snow. I ran up to the imp, and whispered my idea into his ear quickly. He nodded, and at the exact moment the snow and bats cleared, he summoned a (fake) grave. It fell from seemingly nowhere, and landed at Scrooge's feet. It was covered with snow. I pointed dramatically at it, and snow swirled around my feet. Scrooge wiped the snow off it curiously, and fell back, startled, at what it read.

_R.I.P Ebenezer Scrooge_

"PLEASE!" he screeched, falling to his knees, yet again. "This can't be my fate! Please! There must be some way I can change it!"

"Scrooge, unless you change your ways, this shall be your fate," the imp boomed. "If you do not start showing the joy that is locked up inside you, then, sorry to say, you will meet a fate worse then mine. You must reverse the greedy acts you've committed!" Scrooge shivered, and thought for a second.

"OK," he said. "I'll teleport the food back to the feast, and I'll give you the key to Santa's cage! Just please spare me!" He handed me a rusty metal key. I swung it in between my fingers proudly.

In a puff of smoke, Scrooge was dressed in his warm black clothes. For the first time in the time I'd known him, he was grinning. Even the imp looked shocked as he looked up at the grinning old man. In another puff of smoke, he was gone.

"You let Santa out, I'll check if the food is back," the imp said. He was no longer transparent-the camouflage spell had worn off. In a puff of cold steam, he was gone.

I walked down the stairs, giving everyone the thumbs-up. I went towards Santa's cage, and unlocked it. In a fashion similar to pulling a cork from a bottle, Santa popped out of the open cage, and nearly fell on top of me. He swept the dust off his robes, and flourished a red and white wipe, wiping the grime off his face. He smiled widely at me.

"I am in your infinite dept," he said, bowing low to me. "Thank you very much, and a Merry Christmas to you." I took off my robes, sighing with relief as the heavy chains tumbled to the floor. I gathered them up, and put them back in my bag. The imp reappeared, smiling.

"The food's back!" he yelled joyfully. He teleported us all back there.

He wasn't lying- all types of food filled the vacant table. Huge, succulent turkeys, soft bread, fluffy roast potatoes, delicious mulled wine, and warm, soft pies filled the table, along with a selection of sweets, cakes, trifles, drinks, and even fruit. The guests were eating heartily, still muttering with relief about the almost-disaster of a feast. We all ran forward to feast, but a mysterious force picked us up and carried us towards the tent. We fell inside.

Inside was Santa, who was resting in a red throne decorated with holly. The ice queen sat in a throne made from ice next to him. She hadn't aged since I last saw her-she was still beautiful in a very cold sort of way. Scrooge stood in a corner, a grin plastered on his face. In another corner, the familiar figure of Jack Frost sulked. A cold aura came from him. Icicles still hung from his hair, and he looked miserable at the happiness floating in the air.

"First, I would like to apologise for my behaviour," Scrooge explained sadly to us. "I was a miserly old man because of several things that happened and were still happening. Christmas related to bad experiences to me, so I wanted to stop others feeling the joy I was lacking. But now, one thing or another has made me realise the evil surrounding my actions, now, I want your forgiveness, and I'm willing to do anything for this." The ice queen, smiled, looking touched.

"Your words and actions tell me enough," she replied cordially. "You are forgiven, as long as your attitude stays like this." he smiled widely at hearing this. The only person in the room who wasn't smiling was Jack Frost. I watched him carefully. His eyes darted from his mum, to the feast, to the cupboard. He raised his hands in the air, as if he'd made a decision.

He waved his hands, and everyone froze. All the people in the feast, everyone in the tent, all the imps, everyone except Jack himself were frozen. He laughed.

"One way or another, this feast will be ruined!" he cackled evilly. "Even if Scrooge has gone all soft and sentimental, I'll carry on with the deed. I'll go into RuneScape, destroy all cupboards, and turn it into IceScape, while everyone here remains frozen for eternity!"

Pain filled my body. I was all frozen. Every molecule, every pore, every part of my body was screaming in protest as I was frozen from the inside out. Cold crept through all my insides, reducing them to ice cubes. Jack Frost bounced up, and ran towards the cupboard.

Scrooge burst from the ice he was encased in with a blast of fire. Pure fury- a justified fury- covered his face. He blasted a ball of fire from his wand towards Jack Frost, while all the frozen guests, the imps, Santa and the ice queen watched. Jack Frost spun around, snarling. He summoned a ball of ice, and threw it at Scrooge, who dodged it. Scrooge threw a ball of fire at the ice queen, who was defrosted. She pounced at her son, snarling.

"YOU NAUGHTY LITTLE BEAST, JACK FROST!!!" she bawled, her beautiful face livid. "HOW MANY TIMES DO YOU HAVE TO TRY AND RUIN CHRISTMAS? YOU ARE SO GROUNDED!" I felt a bit of déjà vu at hearing that. With a blast of ice, Jack Frost was frozen to the ground, yet again.

She ran towards Scrooge, swooping down on him and kissing him twice on both cheeks. He blushed.

Santa walked forward, laughing cheerfully.

"Ho ho ho!" he laughed. "Thanks to everyone for making Christmas a success. You'll find some surprises in your presents on Christmas day. For now, let us feast!"

The rest of the day was devoted to feasting and over-indulging. We sat down, loaded our plates with food, and dug in. The food was great. Every drop of wine was sweet, every lump of potato was soft, and every scrap of turkey was juicy. After the feast, we ran towards the snowy field, and had a ferocious snowball fight. We walked towards the cupboard in the evening, full of food, and sopping wet, laughing merrily.

Before we walked through, we were stopped by the snow imp who helped us.

"I just want to thank you for your help," he explained. "For helping me, I feel obliged to gift you all with something." He sent a blue orb at each of us. Suddenly, I pointed at him, and snow surrounded me. The same happened for everyone else. He laughed.

"You can now point dramatically," he explained. "It goes well with your scary ghost outfit and chains. Mainiac97 did it at the grave in Scrooge's bedroom. Also, for Mainiac97, the great ghost, I want to give him this." he handed me the icy loud speaker. "I can make a new one for myself," he said. "It'll go well for speaking in a loud booming voice. You can use it with the costume and the emote."

"What happened to Scrooge?" I asked.

"He couldn't deal with the guilt of what he's done in the past, so he's mysteriously disappeared to somewhere so he can think things over," the imp explained. "He's destroyed the tax system with people renting his houses, and he's given away his mansion to Jack Frost. Thank you all, and goodbye." At that, he disappeared in a puff of freezing cold steam. I pitied poor old Scrooge, who was transformed from a miserable old man to a joyful soul in one night, and couldn't handle the weight of the sins he'd committed in the past. I jumped back into the cupboard.

I spent the next few days playing in the snow. One morning, I got up; put Eek in my pocket along with some bread crumbs for him to feast on, gulped down some breakfast, and went off to the white knight castle. I had a plan.

I snuck inside the castle, not wanting to attract attention. I snuck towards Cedric's office, which was like Sir Amik Varze's office, only gloomier and dustier. There was a store cupboard opposite his office door. He was sitting behind his dusty desk, writing down notes. I put on my ghost outfit, put the loud speaker on my mouth from behind my hood (nobody could see it), and went into the cupboard. I shook the chains violently, wanting to attract Cedric's attention. I saw the door open, as Cedric peered inside curiously.

I used the trick emote, and bats flew into Cedric's face. He fell back, staring at me in shock.

"Who are you?" he barked. "What are you doing here?" I shook my fist at him.

"Cedric….." I moaned creepily. "Cedric......" I pointed at him dramatically, and snow swirled around my feet. He screamed, jumped up, and ran down the corridor. I pulled down my hood, laughing.

A few days later, I woke up to a face full of snow. Osrie1 had used my snow globe against me!

"Merry Christmas!" he laughed, handing me a package wrapped in green paper. I thanked him, and then I dived to the end of my bed. There was a pile of presents there, waiting for me! Osrie1 returned to his own presents, to continue opening presents. "Oh and thanks for the beer glass with my name carved on it," he added. I smiled, and ripped open the present he gave me.

It was a box of Christmas gingerbread men, and attached to the box was some coupons to shops such as Irish's steel shop, the general store, and the local Falador bakery. I smiled gratefully towards him.

The next present was from Haru Axe-man, Sin, Elite, Ballbags32, and Haldir6, who'd chipped together to get mine. It was long and thin, and wrapped in silver paper. When I opened it up, a brand new steel sword with my name engraved on it and a diamond on the end fell into my lap. I stared at it in awe. I grabbed my weapon belt, took out my old steel sword, put the old one in my bag, and put the new one in there.

Eek stirred from his spot on my pillow. "Merry Christmas!" I said to him. He jumped onto my shoulder. "Here's a present from me," I said, offering him a tiny package. He thanked me, and ripped it open with his tiny fangs. Inside, I'd made him a tiny steel plate body, with eight holes for his legs. I put it on him. He thanked me. I put one of the gingerbread men osrie1 gave me in my pocket, and he jumped in to demolish it slowly, crumb by crumb.

I grabbed the next parcel. It was wrapped untidily in brown paper. The label read** To Mainiac97, I'm sorry, I hope you can forgive me, from Ebenezer Scrooge**. I ripped it open, and sleek, new black ice skates fell into my lap. I stared at them in awe, admiring the strong metal which was designed to skate through the toughest ice. Osrie1 was holding a pair too- Scrooge must have sent everyone a pair.

The next package was from Amy11 and Slinky, who'd chipped together to give me their present, which was wrapped in shiny pink paper. Inside, there was a ruby ring to wear with my other rings. I slipped it on.

There was another package from Madrey1, Phantom and Rogue. This one seemed to be shuddering, and was wrapped in greasy cheap brown paper. Instead of risking opening it, I threw it out the window. I'm glad I did, because I heard a scream from outside.

Aubury sent me a supply of runes, Sir Amik Varze sent me an armour-polishing kit (which I used straight away to make my steel nice and shiny), and Cedric sent me a single chocolate piece wrapped up in so much paper it looked like something big. Capablanca sent me some arrows, and Mark sent me a steel axe. There was a gift from Duke Horacio, which was 700gp, and a gift from Farmer Fred, which were some home-grown fruit and vegetables. There were two packages left, one was large, and the other was small and thin. The large one was decorated with paper with pictures of Santa on it, and the other one was wrapped in black paper. I opened the large one first.

Inside was a cardboard box. I opened it, and there were another two boxes, and a note. The note read:

**Merry Christmas! Inside we have a selection of Christmas treats and another little reward for you to enjoy!**

**Signed,**

**Saint Nicholas (Santa Claus)**

**Lumi, Queen of snow and ice**

**Prince Jack Frost**

One box was full of gingerbread men, mince pies, candy canes, humbugs….a large assortment of Christmas sweets and treats. I put that aside for late on tonight. The other box contained a stick, made from the finest wood. It was shaped like a candy cane. The note that came with it read 'this candy cane stick can be used as a weapon, a toy, a decoration, and even a magic wand!' I twirled it in between my fingers.

The other package came with no name, but a card which read; **enjoy a gift from the unknown**. On the card, there was a picture of a mouse wearing a black highwayman's mask. I opened it curiously. Inside, all I found was a rusty key, along with a small box of chocolates.

I examined the key curiously. What could it be for? Who sent it? I tasted a chocolate-they were fine, perfectly delicious. This was yet another mystery that needed solving in the world of RuneScape.

So far, my gifts were an assortment of sweets from different sources, some coupons, a new steel sword, some ice skates, a ruby ring, some runes, an armour-polishing kit, some arrows, a steel axe, some money, some fruit and vegetables, the candy cane stick, and the mysterious rusty key. I examined them all fondly. Obviously, I'd sent gifts to everyone too. I wasn't that greedy.

I gathered my gifts, and left the room, intent on enjoying Christmas.

* * *

_I hope you enjoyed that!_

_Who sent the rusty key? What's it for? Tune in to find out!_

_I do not own a Christmas carol (including Scrooge, Marley, etc), Charles Dickens, RuneScape, or Jagex. (Insert more legal stuff here)_

_Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!_

_Until next time, toodles!_


	64. Chapter 64: Sparks are Flying!

_Hello! In this chapter, I include a New Year's Day event which I MADE MYSELF, JAGEX DID NOT MAKE THIS, plus I look over the year we've shared together. Enjoy!_

* * *

_**Chapter 64: Sparks Are Flying!**_

"Watch out!" I screamed at Slinky as I skidded past her, nearly slipping and cracking my head.

We were on the frozen moat of the white knight castle. Christmas had passed now, and the wardrobe had disappeared. The crispy white snow in Falador was starting to melt making the ground wet and slightly slippery, and the decorations were coming down, one by one. I'd put away this year's rewards in my bank, and gone back to wearing my old steel armour sadly, afraid of the strange looks that people who pass give me because of my Christmas wear days and days after Christmas. Diango had given me another two Christmas rewards from the past, which was a woolly hat and scarf.

Altogether, my Christmas rewards were the woolly hat, the woolly scarf, the snow globe, reindeer antlers, a yo-yo, an ice amulet, a Santa suit, a Christmas ghost suit, the icy loud-speaker, and the candy cane.

I'd spent the whole day on the ice, nearly killing myself several times. The ice was becoming wet, because it was in the process of melting, making it dangerous to skate on. Before then, I'd skated on the firm ice with power and dignity. Now, I just looked like a clown on the slippery ice. I decided, until next winter, my skates were better off in a bank.

After depositing the skates in a nearby bank, I stepped outside. I looked into the sky miserably-it wasn't snowing any more. Instead, the clouds were a miserable grey colour. I sighed sadly. Today was New Year's Eve, and I hadn't heard anything about a new event. Mark ran up to me, panting.

"Follow me!" he panted, and ran away. I ran after him curiously.

He led me to where the Christmas tree was. The decorations were coming down, but they'd obviously decided to leave the tree until last, because of its beauty, with the flashing magical lights and tinsel. Next to the tree, where the cupboard which led to the land of snow used to be, a hole in the ground replaced it. It was big enough for a large man to fit through. I stared down this hole, and all I could see was blackness. Mark peered down too.

"What could it be?" he questioned. I scratched my chin thoughtfully.

"Only one way to find out," I pointed out. I picked up a rock at my feet, and threw it in the hole. I peered in, and the rock was gone.

As I was peering in, I slipped on the wet ground, and I fell into the hole. I fell deeper and deeper in this hole. I could smell filth; I could feel the wind blowing in my eyes….

I landed on soil. I groaned, and sat up to look at my surroundings. The hole wasn't a hole-it was a portal! Behind me was another hole in the ground which probably led back to Falador. I looked up, and saw the cloudy sky. Around me was a field full of soil inside a fence. In the distance past the fence, I could see trees. I definitely wasn't in Falador, but judging from the wet ground, I wasn't far. People were running around, yelling, and all I could see was fireballs and sparks flying everywhere in the air.

I was confused. Where was I? What was this? Why were there fireballs flying everywhere? I heard a thump behind me as Mark landed there. He stood up, groaning.

"Where are we?" he asked, surveying his surroundings. I shrugged hopelessly. I looked in the crowd of yelling, panicking people. It was a crowd of normal men wearing brown leather aprons. One person stood out among those men.

It was a woman, wearing black robes and a black wizard's hat. Her skin had a green tinge, and she had a large wart on her long, crooked nose. She seemed familiar…..wait; it was Aggie the witch from Draynor! I ran up to her eagerly.

"Aggie!" I yelled. She spun around, alarmed, her hat askew.

"Who the hell are you?" she spat. I stood there, shocked, as a fireball flew over my head, narrowly hitting it.

"I'm Mainiac97. We met last year in Draynor. I was one of many people who came to do the New Year's Day event with the dragon. Remember me?" I asked desperately. She frowned.

"Yes, I think I remember you," she sniffed. "What are you doing here anyway? How did you get here?"

"I got here through a hole on the ground in Falador," I explained. She sighed.

"That hole wasn't supposed to open until later tonight," she snapped. She clapped her hands, and the hole in the distance seemed to fade away out of existence.

"What's going on here?" I asked, staring up curiously as the fireballs and sparks which flew everywhere, while the men underneath ran around, yelling.

"There's been a disaster. You know I'm the inventor of amazing fireworks?" she boasted proudly. I nodded. "We were meant to have a display tonight to celebrate the New Year, but I encountered a….error, you might say. Due to a stupid mistake I made while enchanting the fireworks to go off at particular times, they've all gone off at the same time and hit each other, causing a bit of a disaster. Those fireballs in the sky? They're the fireworks." She looked rather sheepish.

"Can I help at all?" I asked curiously.

"Don't forget me," Mark added. Aggie snorted.

"You can try, I suppose, but I doubt there'd be much you could do successfully," she guffawed.

"What could we do to help?" I enquired.

"Well, if you could extinguish those fireworks before they kill someone so I can replace them, I'd be grateful," she confirmed. I nodded. She pulled two buckets out of her robes, and filled them with water using magic.

"Right, all you have to do is approach a firework, and throw water over it, and bring the extinguished firework to me so I can reuse parts of it. I'll reward you with every five extinguished fireworks you bring me. But it isn't that simple. Those sparks that the fireworks make sting quite a bit, but not enough to make you lose any health. They prove a real distraction. Also, beware, because, as you can see, they go pretty fast, and those flames are dangerous. Come to me to refill the buckets. Plus, please don't think I'm lazy- I'm going to be helping you, as well as the workers I hired," she explained, sounding rather bored, pointing at the men with brown aprons. We absorbed the information like a sponge, and ran off to do our job.

I approached a firework cautiously. It was whizzing in circles, releasing sparks. As soon as I was close enough, the sparks showered on me. I yelled, using my arm to protect myself. It was like being showered with tiny needles that only lasted two seconds. I ignored the sparks, and threw half of the contents of my bucket over the firework. It sizzled, and after a quick explosion, it fell to the ground. It was shaped like a rocket, filled with a magic flammable powder (which was now gone), and made from strong cardboards and metals. An inch of rope came from it, which was all burnt.

I picked it up, and my hand was scalded. I dropped it, hissing with pain. After a minute, I picked it up. It was still was warm, but my hand could handle the pressure.

I extinguished another firework with the remaining contents of my bucket, after suffering the shower of painful sparks. I went back to Aggie, who'd extinguished four fireworks, giving her mine. She nodded, and refilled my bucket with water. The crystal-clear water sloshed around as I chased the nearest wild firework.

I extinguished the firework, dodging the sparks neatly. I still had enough water to extinguish at least another two! I extinguished another one, still having a little water sloshing around at the bottom. There was no need to refill, I thought, I could use what I had. I approached another firework cautiously. It was doing loop-the-loops in the air, releasing enough sparks to fill the night sky with. Enduring the sparks, I splashed the water at the mad firework. It wasn't enough to completely extinguish it. It sputtered for a second, and then burst into colourful flames. It flew straight towards me.

I screamed loudly, and ducked. The firework shot over my head, burning some of my hairs. It collapsed as a pile of ashes nearby.

I extinguished another two fireworks, and handed all of my extinguished fireworks to Aggie. She smiled gratefully at me, for the first time.

"Thanks," she said. "Here's your first reward." She shot a red light at me. I yelled as sparks shot out of my body. I was hovering slightly. I dropped to the ground, and the sparks stopped. Aggie winced as she was showered with the sparks I'd released. "I have taught you the 'sparks' emote. It only works once every few minutes, and it won't work if you're in damp conditions, but when it does work sparks shoot out of your body for a few seconds, which can be used as a distraction against enemies." She refilled my bucket. I thanked her, and ran off to extinguish more deadly fireworks.

I came back several times to refill. I rushed around, extinguishing different fireworks. I returned to Aggie, clutching another five fireworks. Aggie's nostrils flared.

"Can I smell something burning?" she asked me. I grinned sheepishly, turning around, showing a blackened patch on my steel armour, where a firework had hit me. She sighed, and pointed her wand at it. The black mark faded away. I thanked her several times. I gave her my extinguished fireworks. She gave me a rather stretched grin.

"Here's another reward for your hard work," she said. She handed me a wooden model, of a dragon. "That model is a finely carved model of the dragon of New Year. It is for display mainly, but if you keep it with you it'll strengthen any fire-related power you have, like the dragon-fire emote I gave you last year, or this year's 'sparks' emote. It also boosts the power of fire spells."

I examined it fondly. It was carved from strong oak, and was very durable. The eyes were carved from gold, and they seemed to glow with a mysterious power. The roaring carved mouth looked so realistic, I half-expected fire to come bursting from it.

"If you bring me five more extinguished fireworks, I'll give you one final reward," she promised. I sighed, and set off.

I rushed around, splashing water over fireballs to give me the damp, wrecked remains of the fireworks. I returned to Aggie, holding five damp fireworks. She smiled, obviously pleased. A pile of wet cardboard, wooden sticks and glittery red power stood at her feet.

"Thanks," she said, taking them off my hands. "As you can see, I'm breaking up the fireworks and sorting out what I can re-use and what I can't. Here's your final reward-dragon costume boots and gloves."

She handed me leather gloves and boots. They were fairly large, and were red, with fake black claws coming from the fingers/toes. They weren't real dragon-hide, but they looked real, and they went with the rest of the costume (mask and wings), which I got last year.

"Now, let me look at the time," Aggie said. She disappeared in a puff of purple light. She came back after a minute. "It's 4:00pm," she announced. "The fireworks show opens up at 8:00pm, giving us four hours to prepare. If you help us get rid of the straggling fireworks, I'll give you an experience lamp."

I stepped away, and looked up. The sky wasn't being lit up by explosive, mad fireworks any more- there were only a handful left. Mark was doing well. I could see him running around, wearing his dragon-costume boots and gloves, extinguishing fireworks. I splashed the rest of my water over a straggling firework releasing sparks everywhere. It fell to the ground, sputtering, and after waiting a minute for it to cool down; I picked the soggy remains up. The men in brown aprons were doing their job pretty well, because there were no more fireworks to pick up when I turned around. I handed my firework to Aggie, and she smiled politely. Mark ran up to us, clutching another firework, and Aggie took them off him.

"I must say, I'm very….pleased," she noted sourly. "But I can't reward you for giving me only one firework. In the remaining three hours and fifty minutes, we have to replace and set up the fireworks in the correct formation, which I will do, gather chairs for the onlookers to sit down on, which my hired men can do, and set up the snack stall, which I'll leave it to you to do. I'll reward you if you do that. We must work as a team if this celebration is to succeed." I stared at her, nonplussed.

"How do we set this stall up?" I asked. She chuckled.

"The stall itself is already set up; I just need to fetch it. What you need to do is make as much food as possible. There will be plenty of ingredients in the stall, all I want you to do is prepare snacks for the onlookers," she explained. She clapped her hands twice, and in a flash of purple light a simple wooden stall stood there.

I went behind it, and I was faced with two stoves attached to the side of the counter, an area for preparing the food, a sink, a beer tap, serving trays, and store-cupboards. I opened one, and it had been magically expanded. Pots and pots of flour stood there. I opened another, and piles of raw meat towered on the shelves of the cupboard. Another one contained hundreds of beer glasses, cake tins and bowls. There were several others containing all types of ingredients. We were meant to put our food in the serving trays, which were enchanted to keep an infinite amount of food in them, and keep all that food warm. Aggie laughed.

"Doesn't this stall prove the might of magic?" she commented. I nodded, awestruck on how working stoves, a beer tap and barrel and a working sink had been all set up in a simple wooden stall.

"I love cooking, so this will work out pretty well," Mark said. I nodded.

"I'm not sure if we'll have enough food prepared for a party in time," I said sadly. Aggie snorted.

"Don't worry," she sighed. "I have hired a cook, who will join you in approximately an hour. He'll also work during the party," she said. I nodded, and got to work.

Meat sandwiches being my favourite snack, I started making them. It started becoming repetitive. I'd get a pot of flour, fill a bowl with water, mix them together, cook the dough to make a loaf of bread, cut it open with a knife, cook some meat, and put it inside. The result was something that made my mouth water. I ended up eating the first three I made, before I was full, and the sight of delicious food didn't tempt me any more. Mark seemed to be preparing bowls of delicious stew nearby.

My cooking level was really flourishing because of all this cooking. After I was getting bored of making so many sandwiches, it had reached level 22! I was amazed.

I started preparing meat pies after that. I could imagine what Osrie1 would say if he was here. I prepared the dough in a similar fashion to the bread, and instead of shaping it like a loaf; I put it inside pie dishes that were in one of many store cupboards, filled it with meat, and cooked it, giving a mouth-watering result. Mark had gone from making stew to preparing buttered potatoes and filling them with fillings such as egg, tomato, and cheese.

My cooking level had raised to the likes of 30 after all that pie-baking. A man in chequered trousers, a white apron and a white chef's hat walked up to us.

"Excuse me, are you the two people Aggie the witch asked to make food?" he enquired in an unfamiliar accent. I nodded. He also wore a large trimmed purple cooking skill-cape on his back. "You may report what you've made to Aggie; I'm experienced enough to take over from here. Good work on what you have made." We thanked him, and ran off in search of Aggie.

The empty field had changed drastically since we'd been chasing around fireworks. Simple wooden chairs stood in rows in front of fireworks set up in a special formation. There was a metal gate separating the fireworks from the chairs, so nobody got injured. Lamps had been set up to light up the dark area. The men in brown aprons were still putting more chairs in rows. A countdown to the New Year had been magically placed near the fireworks (giant blue numbers floating in the air changing as every second passed). Aggie was setting up more fireworks. We ran up to her, and tapped her on the shoulder. She jumped, and spun a round to face us.

"Have you done cooking?" she asked. We nodded, pointing towards the stall. She smiled. "Here's your reward for the extra work, and you're free to have what you like from what you'd made in the stall for free," she said, handing us one experience lamp each. I put mine away in my bag to put in my bank along with all my others.

The hole opened up again, and the first people to come through were everybody else who was part of our travelling gang (Osrie1, Amy11, Capablanca, Slinky, and Aaron), led by Jamie, Cedric and Sir Amik Varze. We ran up to them, and explained what we'd been doing. I poked my tongue out at Osrie1 and Amy11. They replied by doing the same. Aaron and Mark punched each other on the shoulder. They'd become good buddies in the time they'd known each other.

We sat down in the front row. The head chef had moved the stall nearer to the onlookers who were sitting down, waiting for the New Year to arrive. I ran up the stall, and the chef gave me two warm meat sandwiches. I chomped on them. There were a few hours to go before the New Year would arrive. Aggie had set off a few crowd-warmer fireworks. Purple and orange sparks filled the sky, and I thought of the year that had passed.

It was hard to think that at the start of this year I had been in Lumbridge, intent on exploring; not knowing what was being plotted. After all the fighting, death and blood that I'd been through this year, especially in Varrock with the Silverlight wars, I felt like I'd been transformed from an innocent noob to a battle-scarred warrior. Next year, something told me more fighting was going to come. After all, Master Samuel wasn't going to stay in the dark forever. He was plotting something, far away, and I knew I hadn't seen the last of him in the stronghold of security…

There were other evil forces that had revealed themselves this year. Like the noob exterminators. Even if Master Samuel had decided to stay hidden, the noob exterminators were still going to try and spoil everyone's lives. Nobody should forget the demon clan. They were only replacing their broken machinery now. I knew, somewhere in my heart, that they would be back.

This year, as well as being a dark year, had also had its happy moments. Like the several feasts and parties. There was the Easter party, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and this party too. Also, there had been a lot of love in the air. Not the type of love Osrie1 shared with his meat pies. This was real love. I noticed Mark kept flirting gently with Slinky, and there was the sinister romance Madrey1 shared with Rogue. There was also an unspoken bond between me and Amy11….

I'd met a lot of friends this year. Like, the Glory Troopers, which included Aubury, Mark, Creator, Clayguy7, Amy11, Haru, Haldir6, Slinky (even though she wasn't a Glory Trooper any more) and more. I had some new friends, like Aaron, Elite, Sin, Ballbags32, and the white knights. Even though he was a bit obnoxious, I was friends with Cedric. Sir Amik Varze WAS a friend, but he seemed too official and important to be a casual friend. Jamie was definitely a friend. I also had my ancient buddies, like Osrie1 (my very first buddy), Amy11 (the very first female buddy I'd met) and Capablanca (another old friend). I also had others, but I'd be here forever if I tried to list them all. As well as friends, I had my enemies.

I spent the next few hours chatting with friends, eating, and thinking. But then, there was only a minute or two until the New Year according to the giant countdown. I waited patiently for the countdown to finish.

The seconds ticked by, and I could sense the anticipation in the air. Ten seconds until the New Year…..

"Five!" The crowd chanted. A gasped as an unfamiliar flashback hit me…. "Four!" It was of a boy, like me, but chubbier….."Three!" What was he doing? "Two!" He seemed to be screaming as he was enveloped in light…. "One!" There was somebody else in the room, staring sadly at the boy…..

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!" the crowd screamed as the giant blue countdown disappeared. I stared up in wonder as colourful sparks and fireballs filled the air. The air was filled with light, colour, smoke, and noise. Even in a happy, amazing moment like this, I wondered what this flashback meant. I was confused. I hadn't had a flashback of a different life since this exact moment last year. What did this mean? Was I destined to live my life in confusion and wonder? These thoughts, and more, exploded in my head like the amazing fireworks that were exploding over our heads right now.

_

* * *

I hope you liked it!_

_I hope you had a Merry Christmas, and I wish you a Happy new Year! Roll on 2010! During this year, we'll see action, adventure, death, romance, horror, holiday events, happiness...I hope you like the year I've plotted out especially for you_

_Until next time, toodles!_


	65. Chapter 65: Abducted

_**Chapter 65: Abducted**_

The possessed imp bounced around me, cackling annoyingly, waving its tiny sword at my ankles. I hissed in pain as the sword came in contact with my leg. I kicked it angrily, and it laughed again, staring up at me with blood-red eyes. It jumped at my face, tearing at my eyes. I yelled, and hit it with my stone hammer. The imp jumped off, squeaking furiously. There was a massive bruise on its head. I put my hammer back in the belt, and I picked up Pestilence's mace, struggling under the massive weight it. With a final smash using it, the imp was crushed.

I stared hopefully at the bloody remains of what used to be an imp, before it dematerialised, leaving a pile of ash, some coins, and….a blue bead! I picked it up, happy that I'd found the one imp that had been holding the last bead. Aubury had given me the other three before I left Varrock. I had all the beads now. All I had to do was return them to the old wizard at the top of the wizard's tower, and accept my reward. But we weren't planning to leave Falador for a while, so I just had to put my bead away safely along with the others.

I looked up, smiling evilly at the other possessed imps. I used the trick emote, and bats poured from my body. Even when they were possessed, they were simple-minded, and easy to scare. The red disappeared from their eyes, and they scattered, screeching.

Possessed imps had been attacking Falador square, and Sir Amik Varze, being a very busy man, had asked me to take care of them, promising rewards. I walked across the marble bridge which led to the white knight castle, smiling proudly, pocketing the one-of-a-kind bead. I planned to return to Sir Amik Varze to claim my reward.

I looked into the sky, and noticed dark grey clouds. It was early afternoon, and the weather was already taking a turn for the worse. I wished it was still snowing like it was on Christmas, which was approximately a week and a half ago.

I felt in my pocket, and felt the shell of peace I found in the stronghold of security (with only two charges left), a half-eaten candy cane, and the snoring figure of Eek the spider.

I walked in the courtyard of the white knight castle. The white knights had grown to know me, and several waved at me as I passed them. I walked through the oak double front doors. I'd become familiar to the corridors of the white knight castle, and I could tell whether I was in the north or south wing of the castle.

I passed an open door, and I saw three white knights surrounding a table with a cardboard box on it. Smoke was pouring from the box, and a burst of flame from it startled the knights.

"Somebody labelled it as a baby black dragon, but we can't be sure it's safe," one knight pondered. I continued, rather uninterested in the white knight's postal arrangements and possible letter-bombs.

I walked through many corridors and up many winding staircases, until I reached the door to Sir Amik Varze's office. I knocked. A voice gave me permission to enter. I did so.

Sir Amik Varze sat by his desk, reading some notes, and he looked up as I entered. "Sir, I've sorted out the imp problem," I announced. He smiled.

"Great, here's your reward," he answered, handing me an experience lamp. I took it gratefully, privately considering adding it to my collection of unused experience lamps I had in the bank. "Oh, by the way, when I talked to your friend Capablanca last, he sounded flustered and worried. I'd suggest seeing what the matter is." I nodded, and walked out.

I walked out of the castle curiously. On the way to Capablanca's house (where we were sleeping currently), I walked into the bank, and opened my bank account. I put my bead and lamp away, and I looked at the shelf where I kept the reward for my seasonal events. The magnifying glass I won last Thanksgiving was still there, gathering dust. I picked it up thoughtfully, thinking it could be useful for whatever was worrying Capablanca. I continued towards his house.

When I walked into the house, people were pacing around, looking worried. I stepped up to Mark.

"What's wrong?" I asked curiously. He gave me a rather upset grimace.

"Amy11 has gone missing. Nobody has seen her since lunchtime," he explained sadly. I felt a bubble somewhere in my heart burst. I gasped, and ran straight upstairs, past the room I and Osrie1 shared, past Mark and Aaron's room, and into Slinky and Amy11's room. I stared around, and the room was deserted. Slinky was downstairs with the others, but where was Amy11?

I surveyed the room with curiosity. The room was covered with pink wallpaper, and the bed sheets were white. There were three wardrobes used to contain the vast quantity of clothes the girls owned. I stepped up to Amy11's bed. There'd obviously been a struggle, since the sheets were all ruffled, and there was a spatter of blood on the pillow. I took out my magnifying glass, glad I'd brought it with me, and started inspecting the area.

The first clue I spotted, without the magnifying glass, was that the window was open. I inspected closer, and I spotted some black silk on the windowsill. I picked it up curiously. I found some other clues, including an arrow, a small rip of leather, and a long black hair that didn't belong to Amy11 or Slinky, since they were blonde.

I finally found something on the floor I hadn't spotted before - a piece of paper, with something scribbled on. I read it apprehensively. It read:

**To whomever it may concern,**

**If you want to see your friend Amy11 again, meet me on the top floor of the party room. Come ALONE. Look out for a man in a grey cloak.**

I stared, thunderstruck, at the note. Amy11 had been abducted!

I paced the room, panicking. The note told me to go alone, but I didn't know the abductor was. I might end up walking into a trap! Worried thoughts filled my mind like leaking water.

But a different side of my mind spoke up then. Why was I being a coward? Amy11 was in danger! I should walk out there and face my fears like man. I needed to be like Sir Vant, my role model in every way, who'd battled a three-headed dragon, and who sacrificed his life for me. Without a second thought, I walked out the room, down the stairs, and out the door confidently.

I took a quick glance at my world map, and followed the path towards the party room. I found myself at the door of a large marble building, with large double yew doors. It seemed so peaceful from the outside. I opened it, and the massive burst of sound nearly blasted me off my feet.

I was in a rather long hall. It was completely crowded with dancing people. Music filled this hall, coming from a small band on a stage in the corner. Lights flashed in this room from the obviously enchanted ceiling. On one end, there was a stone fireplace which crackled merrily. On the other end, there was a large oak chest which people were putting things in. next to it, there was a large metal switch attached to the wall. In the middle of the room, taking up most of the length, was a long table, covered with a simple white cloth. Opposite me were brown stairs leading to the top floor, and also there was a bar selling drinks with a woman behind it.

There was a man dancing on the table. He wore red clothes, black glasses, had brown hair, and wore a red party hat, which must have cost him a lot of money. The people were cheering. I stepped in reluctantly, shutting the door behind me. The man dancing on the table spotted me, and got off. He walked towards me cheerfully.

"Hello! You're a new face. Welcome to the party room!" he greeted me. "Would you like me to explain how the room works to you?"

"Not right now, I'm busy," I replied, trying to get past him. He laughed.

"Come on, don't be a spoilsport," he laughed, blocking my way. I had a suspicion he was drunk, because of the slur in his speech. "Come on, have a drink, have a dance, loosen up." I gave him a grimace.

"Please move or I'll make you. I have business to attend to," I threatened. He chuckled, unfazed.

"If you didn't come in here to party, why did you come?" he laughed. I growled, annoyed.

"Is that any of your business?" I questioned. He laughed again. I was getting ticked at his constant laughing and chuckling.

"Yes it is, because I'm Party Pete and I own this place," he replied. I sighed.

"Someone wants to meet me on the top floor," I said dully. His eyebrow rose suspiciously.

Before he could say anything else, I heard a lot of screaming and yelling, and balloons of different colours rained from the sky. Party Pete ran off, not sparing me a second glance. The sound of popping drowned out the music. I sighed. Good riddance, pushy, nosy idiot. I walked towards the stairs, trying to avoid the pushy crowd trying to pop these balloons for whatever reason. I accidentally popped a balloon on my way, and a small pile of coins lay there where the balloon once was. I scooped them up, understanding the mad rush to pop these balloons now. I walked up the stairs.

Upstairs was simply a balcony for fresh air. The rest of the party room was visible below. Benches sat by the walls. Sitting on one, I spotted a man in a grey cloak. I walked up to him, anxiously waiting for what was about to happen. He spotted me, and stepped forward.

"This is better then I thought it was going to be," he commented. With a wave of his arm, his grey cloak flew off. I gasped.

The man in the grey cloak wave of his arm, his grey cloak flew off. I gasped.

The man in the grey cloak was the wanted highwayman I thought I'd killed ages ago. He still had the clothes he'd worn then- the skill cape, and typical highwayman clothes, like the mask, the cape, and the cream clothes and black silk. Instead of wielding a steel sword, he held an adamant sword. He was now double my level.

"I thought I killed you!" I stuttered. He laughed.

"I thought I was going to die," he said. "I'd just been beaten up by a drunken dwarf and clobbered half to death by a load of guards. Your mistake was leaving my body behind. I gathered up my remaining amount of energy, and teleported somewhere safe where I could recover." I growled.

"Give Amy11 back!" I demanded. He gave me a sly grin.

"It wasn't me who kidnapped her," he said sourly. "I have just been hired to meet you, or someone else who may have read the notice here. I'll now take you to visit the people who paid me to do this." With that, he punched me in the nose, and I fell back. The world was blacking out…..

* * *

_I hope you liked that!_

_The baby black dragon in the white knight's castle is a reference to a request Boshibasher made. I won't include it as a character, but I just made a light, unimportant reference to it._

_I've made some edits to previous chapters, paticularly Amy x mainiac scenes, since I realised it was a bit too early to have those type of scenes. __I would like to take this oppetunity to thank King0fn00bz for mentioning me on his account. I'm touched._

_A happy new year to you all! My resolutions for this story: tyr and lengthen the chapters so the story doesn't become so bulky. I may combine some chapters once this story is done. I may make a sequel so the story doesn't become ridiculously long._

_Until next time, toodles!_


	66. Chapter 66: A storm is coming

_**Chapter 66: A storm is coming…**_

I woke up groggily. My vision was blurred. My head felt like somebody had whacked it repeatedly with a brick. I stood up, and fell back over. I tried to rub my eyes, but by hands wouldn't budge. Once my vision had cleared up slightly, I looked down. My body was completely covered in rope! I struggled, but the rope was tied up too tightly. I surveyed my surroundings.

I was in a rather small room. There were no windows, and one filthy wooden door. Green fungus dripped from the ceiling. The floor and walls were made from a dirty wood. It was freezing in this room. The whole place felt damp. There were a few chairs in this room. I was lying on the floor, and nearby on the floor was….

"Amy11!" I yelled. She was unconscious. Her pale, heart-shaped face was smudged with dirt, and her usually full red lips looked blue. She seemed to be moaning and crying in her sleep. My cry echoed eerily around the cold, empty room. She stirred, and sat up, looking groggy.

"Where am I?" she asked sleepily. "Last thing I remember is being attacked by a man in a grey cloak….." At the memory of that, she bounced up, looking alert. She then fell back, yelling, hitting her head on the wall. I stood up, and bounced towards her awkwardly, since I was tied up.

"Amy11!" I yelled again. She turned her attention to me, and gasped. She bounced towards me, and she fell over again.

"Where are we?" she asked, sounding panicked.

"I don't know," I replied, trying to remain calm. I eyed the door, and just as I was considering bouncing towards it to try and open it, it burst open, making me fall back.

Madrey1 walked in, looking triumphant, with Phantom, the highwayman, and the ever-so-beautiful Rogue following. She shot me a wicked grin, and closed the door behind her. I glared at them all.

"So you're behind this all!" I yelled. Madrey1 nodded, smiling.

"I finally have you both trapped like mice," he answered. "I got this highwayman to help us. We kidnapped and knocked out Amy11, trying to capture your attention specifically, and we left a note. It worked too! We stationed this highwayman in the party room, where you, or someone else, would go to meet him. Little did you noobs know it was a trap. Here we are now!" The highwayman gave Madrey1 an oily grin.

"Now, your promised payment…" the highwayman said slowly. Madrey1's triumphant smile vanished into thin air.

"You've already been paid 100, 000gp," Madrey1 snapped. The highwayman grimaced.

"That money was for my services," the highwayman replied coldly. "You haven't paid me for my silence yet. I could go to the white knights right now and spill all the beans, reveal all the plots. That is, if you don't pay an added extra 10,000gp."

Madrey1 thought for a moment, and seemed to come to a conclusion. He pulled out his sword, and with a swift motion, sent it right into the highwayman's gut. The highwayman screamed in pain as scarlet blood splattered all over the floor.

"There's your payment," Madrey1 said curtly. "Phantom, destroy him. We don't need him any more."

There was a massive struggle as the highwayman, still bleeding profusely, tried to escape. Phantom jumped up, and landed on the highwayman's head with a sickening crunch. The highwayman fell back, and within seconds he was dead. Madrey1 grabbed his head, and slammed it against the wall, to make sure.

"I've wanted to do this since I met you two noobs," Madrey1 chuckled. He pulled out his dragon sword, and hit me across the leg. A large scar remained there, leaking blood. I screamed in pain. He did the same to Amy11. I watched with misery as she screamed in pain. I couldn't stand this!

As I was hit repeatedly with the dragon sword, I was desperately searching for ways of escaping with Amy11.

"Right, I'll be back later to continue this," he said. "In the meantime, I suggest you lay there and shut up." At that, he left the room, followed by Phantom with Rogue at the end, who gave me an apologetic-but-sinister look before closing the door. I stared uncomfortably at the dead body of the highwayman which lay nearby. There was going to be a disgusting stench in the room later.

Just as the door closed and I was about to give up, I heard a voice.

"Hey….." the voice whispered. I was about to say something when the voice shushed me. "Be quiet! They'll hear us if we make too much noise." A figure walked out from behind the door.

It was the man from the Thanksgiving feast! It was the man with a dead look and gaunt eyes. He wore the same baggy black clothes that he'd worn that day. He took a knife from his pocket, and with two swift motions, we were free from our ropes. He smiled. He ran out the door, and I and Amy11 followed.

We were in a chilly, long wooden corridor with a door on the other end. We were faced with a furious Madrey1. Rogue and Phantom were elsewhere.

"You escaped!" he spat. He turned to the black-clothed stranger. "You helped them!"

"These people are innocent," the stranger snapped. "Just because you're a very naturally angry person, it doesn't give you the right to kidnap youngsters you dislike and torture them. You may have had a horrible childhood. You may have been abused. It shouldn't reflect on your personality years later." Madrey1's mouth fell open.

"How….how do you know about what happened years ago?" he choked. The stranger raised his eyebrows.

"Madrey1, I know everything about your past, present, and your future," he said. Madrey1 stumbled back, breathing heavily. There was a puff of smoke, and I was dragged through smoke, Madrey1's screams following me.

I and Amy11 appeared in the middle of Varrock. It was dark, and the sky was rumbling. I looked up, and dark clouds swirled above us unnaturally. The stranger was gone, and I was clutching a card with a picture of a mouse wearing a highwayman's mask. A message was scrawled on the card, which said 'a storm is coming.' It looked like that too-lightning rumbled above me, and a raindrop fell on my head. I gave the card a confused look. I guess it answered the mystery of who sent me the rusty key at Christmas, but why? What for? Plus, what was that place that we were tied up? It was a horrible place. It was so cold, so damp, so eerie. How did this stranger know about madrey1's childhood?

Amy11 looked like she was going to say something. I put my finger to her mouth. "We'll talk in a minute," I whispered.

We ran towards Capablanca's house, and bounced inside. The place was deserted-where was everyone?

"Can I talk now?" Amy11 grinned. I nodded meekly. She stepped forward, and took hold of my hands. Her blonde hair fluttered behind her like spun gold. "Thank you," she whispered. I stared sadly at her smudged face. I felt a pang of hatred towards Madrey1- what was he playing at, kidnapping an innocent young lady like this?

"What are you thanking me for?" I stuttered. "It was that stranger who saved us from unimaginable tortures!" She gave me a wink.

"You're correct there," she said. "But you tried to save me. You risked your life in the face of the unknown by meeting up with a weirdo, and you've proven to me how much you care." She bent forward, puckering her lips. I felt awkward. Was this what I really wanted?

Just at that moment, the door flew open. We jumped, and flew apart. It was Capablanca and Aaron, who had arrived home. They stared at us both, and cheered.

"We thought you were dead!" Capablanca cried, running forward, giving Amy11 a hug and me a hearty pat on the back. "What happened?"

"It's a long story," I said. "I'll tell you tomorrow. Where is everyone?" I added.

"They're all at the white knight castle with Sir Amik, discussing your disappearance," Aaron explained, sounding relieved. "I'll go tell them now." He ran out of the door.

"You ought to see the winds out there," Capablanca said conversationally. "I wouldn't be surprised if a storm is coming." I read the stranger's card again. 'A storm is coming'. Was it just a coincidence? My head was hurting from the happenings of today. I walked up to my room, and lay down on my bed. After a minute or two, I fell into a deep, deep sleep.

_There was a flash of thunder overhead. It was dark- so dark three figures were barely noticeable. A scream was heard._

"_Leave her alone!" a male voice cried. There was another scream, and an evil cackle._

"_You're the idiots here, walking into out midst," a sinister, different male voice said. "You've been recognised too; from what you and your friends did a year or so ago." There was another cackle._

"_You heard me!" the other male yelled. "Leave her alone!" A flash of thunder illuminated the area, revealing two males and a female. One male was clutching the female by the wrists. There was another scream, and an unpleasant crack. There was a masculine yell of agony._

"_Listen, idiot," the sinister male voice warned. "You're going to listen to me. You know this boy? I want you to find him, and take him here. We've been paid to find him. I'll fill you in with more details later." There was the sound of crinkling paper. There was a gasp. _

"_I will NOT do your bidding! That boy is innocent!" the non-sinister male shouted. There was another cackle._

"_Oh yes you will," the sinister voice cried gleefully. "Or you may find this girl hanging from the roof on a meat hook." There was another cackle, another scream, and rain began to pour._

I woke up, yelling. What a horrible dream! I didn't understand fully what was going on. Who were these three people?

I peered out the window. It was pouring down with rain. My clock told me it was 10:00pm. The house sounded quiet. Everyone must be sleeping.

It was one surprise after another. It was like being the pin in a game of bowling. First Amy11 was kidnapped, then I was kidnapped along with her, then the mystery man comes and saves us, and now this dream! My life on RuneScape kept getting more and more mysterious.

* * *

_Hope you liked that thrilling conclusion to last chapter's cliffhanger! it was an introduction to two key characters, the stranger, and a person from mainiac's dream. That dream Mainiac had might not make much sense now, but there is one person, apart from me, who would understand it- Haseo the Terror of Death!_

_I'm doing a shared universe thingy with him. His story is based one year before mine. Basically, his plot started a year before my plot started. The non-sinister guy in the dream is Dream Decay, from his story, a year older. I know it's complicated. To understand more about Dream Decay's past, and the shared universe, read 'The sphere of Varrock'. I highly suggest it! The whole shared universe was organised between us._

_Expect a romantic chapter next chapter-just in time for valentine's day! *whistle*_

_Until next time, toodles!_


	67. Chapter 67: The Bow of Cupid

_**Chapter 67: The Bow of Cupid**_

As the days and weeks passed, I went around, doing my normal business. I was making a small amount of money by doing chores for people, mainly Sir Amik Varze. I helped around in Irish's steel shop, gathering supplies, and occasionally I helped exterminate rodents, which was difficult, since they were usually possessed.

All through all this time, I was wary. Crime was rising steadily. The streets didn't feel that safe any more. Since that terrible storm when I had a horrific vision, the weather was getting steadily worse. It wasn't even seasonal- it was unnatural. There were thunderstorms every other night, and the sun rarely shone.

Everybody was busy with their own thing now. As a white knight, Capablanca was always busy with his newly re-acquired job. Osrie1 was doing what I was doing- helping around with odd chores. Slinky and Aaron were constantly in Goblin Village, keeping the disgusting green creatures in check. The only one who wasn't busy was Amy11.

The poor girl wasn't recovering very well from being kidnapped and tortured. She spent long amounts of time in her room. She also seemed to be edgy around other people, especially me. Her answers were short, and she constantly looked worried.

One day, I was shopping in the shopping street in Falador. It was late afternoon, and the sun had decided to come out today. There was a beautiful sunset in the distance, shining deep yellows, pinks and purples over the city of Falador. I didn't understand why, but I could see a lot more happy couples at this time of the year. I stared enviously as a rather young couple sat down on the bench, holding hands.

There was a newspaper on the floor. I picked it up, and scanned the front page. I tensed up.

_**Young woman found on the streets, with stomach ripped open.**_

_Yesterday night, the body of a young woman was discovered near the white Knight Castle moat. The body was literally ripped open- all major intestines were spread out nearby, and the whole body was drained of blood. Experts are baffled. More news on this as it develops._

I cringed in disgust at the picture that the article had to offer of the remains. Whatever killed this poor young lady can't have been human. To be honest, the style of killing looked familiar….

I was supposed to be meeting Osrie1 outside the baker's shop. I was chewing on a mini meat pie, when I saw Osrie1 exit the shop, pockets jangling with his pay. He was hired as a temporary chef, cooking pies mainly.

"I'm going back to the house to rest, Osrie1. Are you coming?" I said casually, finishing the rest of my pie in a gulp. He thought for a moment.

"Nah, I'll stay here," he decided. I nodded.

When I got back, I had no intention to rest. I just wanted to check in on Amy11. I stepped into the living room, and she was spread on the couch, looking miserable. She sat up, and when she saw me, she smiled for a moment.

"Hello," I said softly. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, thanks," Amy1 replied, sighing. There was an awkward pause.

Meanwhile, outside the window, a small creature was hovering, looking at the scene before him. The creature looked like a young baby boy with small white angel wings with some white rags draped over him. The baby boy held a golden bow and a golden quiver of golden arrows. There arrows were enchanted by the baby himself to help people fall in love. The baby was commonly known as Cupid.

The baby was a god of love, and he looked on sadly at the awkward couple in the room he was surveying. They couldn't see him, since he was invisible to all humans. He could very easily recognise love between this young boy and girl. He thought he'd poke them in the correct direction. The effect of his arrows wouldn't last forever- in a loveless relationship, they'd only last a day or so. But, there was love here, so his arrows would only help the young couple see that. With a twang of a bowstring, a golden arrow flew towards Mainiac97.

"Did you hear that?" I asked Amy11 curiously, since I was sure I could hear a bowstring twang. All of a sudden, I felt giddy. My vision was blurring over, but when it cleared, I saw Amy11 in a different light.

I was admiring things about her I hadn't seen before- her cute curves, her long blonde hair; her beautiful little smile… my mouth was agape as I noticed true beauty before my very eyes.

Cupid grinned. It was working! The boy had seen the light of love. Cupid's arrows usually forced love in between a boy and a girl, but in this case it seemed to be more of a blindfold remover. With another twang, a golden arrow flew towards Amy11.

"Erm, you look nice today," I stuttered. Amy11 seemed to grin shyly. "I was wondering, are you hungry?" I asked.

"Yes, I am getting hungry," Amy11 admitted. I smiled. This was my chance! I'd never seen Amy11 like this before-she was beautiful, she was friendly, she was caring, and she was everything I wanted.

"Do you want to go for a meal with me?" I asked. Amy11's eyebrows shot up.

"You mean, like a date?" she said. I nodded shyly.

"If you want to call it that," I confirmed. She stood up eagerly; looking happier then I'd ever seen her before. I offered her my arm.

"Shall we?" I asked in the most polite voice I could muster. Amy11 giggled. I blushed furiously- her giggle was so cute! She took my arm, and seemed to frogmarch me out the door.

"Where shall we eat?" I asked. She shrugged. I wandered into the Falador square. I saw more happy couples, and it made me wonder why there was so much love blossoming today specifically. I looked around, and saw a bar. It was called the 'Rising Sun Inn'. I walked in there.

Inside, the floors and walls were made of marble, like almost everything else in this city. There were polished mahogany chairs and tables everywhere, and there was a rather long bar following the opposite side of the wall. There were two ladies behind this bar. We sat down by the bar. We were sitting by a man in brown overalls. A barmaid walked up to us.

"Can I take your orders?" she asked cheerfully. I nodded.

"I'll buy on of your finest meat sandwiches, please," I replied. "What about you, Amy?" I asked her. She thought for a moment.

"I'll have some vegetable soup please," she said. The barmaid nodded, and went to get our orders. The other barmaid was having a hushed conversation with the man in brown overalls.

"So, Tina, what happened to that other barmaid?" he asked in a whispered voice.

"You mean Emily?" Tina the barmaid replied. The man in brown overalls nodded. "I don't know, to be honest. It's like she disappeared off the face of the earth. I'm concerned for her."

They were going to talk some more on the subject, when they were distracted by the other barmaid arriving with our orders. I licked my lips at the warm, juicy meat sandwich in front of me, and I began chewing on it ravenously.

Within minutes I'd finished my food. Amy11 was taking her time with the vegetable soup, one spoonful at a time. After a few minutes of slow eating, she was finished.

I was about to call a barmaid over so I could order drinks and more food, when I heard cheering as a lot of people filled the bar suddenly. They all seemed drunk, and there was a lot of shouting. Amy11 looked uncomfortable.

"Let's go somewhere a bit more peaceful," I suggested. She nodded, and took my arm. We left.

It was getting late now. The moon was full, illuminating the whole city in a beautiful light. I stared at Amy11 as we walked. She looked so happy, so content. I was glad she was cheering up. Maybe she'd make a full recovery. I was still baffled why there was love today specifically. I followed a path and I ended up at the Falador gardens.

The gardens were dazzling in the moonlight. Flowers of literally every colour in the rainbow were planted everywhere, and the grass was the greenest grass I'd ever seen in my life. There was a small pond nearby with several ducks quacking away inside. The gardens were almost deserted, apart from a farmer on the far end of the garden, and a couple sitting on a bench opposite us.

"Do you want to sit down?" I asked Amy11 calmly. She nodded, and we sat down on a nearby bench.

"It's beautiful," she commented, referring to the garden.

"Almost as beautiful as you," I whispered, partially to myself. She heard though, and she blushed.

"Do you really feel that way about me?" she asked me silently. I hesitated, and then nodded. "Wow, that's so sweet. Nobody's ever told me I'm beautiful before. Thanks," she said. She bent forward, and put her head on my shoulder. I sighed blissfully.

She sat up, and looked me in the eyes. A shiver ran down my spine. She bent forward, and her lips were about to touch mine.

At that moment, the ground shook violently. We jumped apart, alarmed. A massive rip appeared in the ground, and a huge, furry paw with massive claws came from it. The couple opposite screamed, and ran off. The floor was almost literally ripped open under our feet by the creature underneath. I managed to jump to safety, but Amy11 was on the verge of falling. I looked down into the pit created by this beast.

A huge, huge, HUGE mole sat there. I could smell earth. The mole's eyes were a deep red, and its claws were flying everywhere, causing shockwaves in the ground. A massive pink nose vibrated as the creature smelt us, our flesh. There was roar, and the gigantic mole opened its mouth. Filthy teeth gnashed thin air. If Amy11 fell in there, it'd be like falling into a giant blender. Yelling, I jumped across the hole, and pushed Amy11 to safety. But, unfortunately, I couldn't say the same about myself. Screaming, I fell into the hole.

A figure swooped down, scooped me up, and pushed me to safety. I looked up at my saviour, and a boy just a bit older then I stood there, looking down at me. He had short white hair, swept coolly over his left eye. He wore mithril armour, and he held a bronze scimitar. His eyes were bloodshot. He gave me a grimace, and turned around to face the hole.

"Be gone, mole!" he yelled, and he took a mithril throwing dagger from his pocket. He sent it flying down to the mole, and it struck the mole's eye. With a roar that shook the whole garden, the mole disappeared in a tornado of filth, earth and dust.

"You saved me again!" Amy11 cried. She jumped into my arms, and smothered my face in kisses. I stuttered, and the white-haired man's eyebrows shot up. I looked down at her once she was finished.

"Of course," I said. "I can't go letting you die, can't I? Plus it was this man that saved us both." Amy11 smiled. I knew in my heart that our relationship would soar above the clouds. I turned to my saviour.

"What's your name?" I asked. The man smiled.

"My name?" he said. "My name is Dream Decay."

Meanwhile, far above, Cupid was watching the scene happily. He'd done his job today. He'd spread the love around. Maybe this universe didn't celebrate Saint Valentine's Day, but Cupid would make sure that the love would be shared everywhere.

I bade Dream Decay farewell, thanking him and promising to meet him again sometime. I walked back to Capablanca's house, arm in arm with Amy11. When I arrived back, everyone was in the living room, chatting and drinking glasses of beer. When I walked into the room with amy11, we were showered with wolf-whistles.

I surveyed the room. Everyone was here, except for Aaron. "Where's Aaron?" I asked curiously. Everyone shook their heads.

I decided to straight up to my room to go to sleep. I walked into my room, and made sure the sleeping figure of Eek was by my bedside table. I stared out the window at the full moon. Today had been so fun. I'd really enjoyed my 'date' with Amy11, and my eyes had been opened up by some unknown power at her true beauty. But where was Aaron? I gave the full moon a final glance, and went to bed. As I was dozing off, I heard the howl of a wolf in the distance.

* * *

_Hello! Hope you liked that Valentine's day special! It's probably not my best piece of work, because romance really isn't my thing. So, what are you all doing for valentine's day? I'm spending it alone! __Can anyone guess where Aaron was at the end of this chapter? find out soon! __let me assure you I'm not greek, and I don't worship Cupid. I just thought he'd be a good character for this chapter._

_The dissappearence of emily the barmaid and Dream Decay are all part of the shared universe I'm doing with Haseo thr terror of death, which was explained in detail in last chapter's author notes. For Dream decay's past, please read 'The sphere of Varrock' by haseo the terror of death. I assure you, it's good! His story is set a year before mine, so the Dream in his story is the same Dream in mine, except the one here is a year older._

_Next chapter....we see the truth behind the giant mole's unusual behaviour..._

_Until next time, toodles!_


	68. Chapter 68: Of Moles and Holes

_**Chapter 68: Of Moles and Holes**_

"What the hell was that for?!" The farmer yelled at me angrily. "You idiot! Look what you've done! How dare you!"

"It's just a flower," I replied. I stared down at the tiny trampled rose that I'd stepped on by accident. The farmer sighed.

"I guess you're right," he grumbled. "But don't do it again!"

I walked off, and I sat down next to Amy11 on the bench. Ever since the fiasco when we nearly got blended alive by a giant mole, we'd been coming to the park every day to try and get the mole to come back out. We'd seen it twice since then-strangely, it always seemed to come for me more then the others.

After questioning the farmer of Falador Park, I discovered that a bottle of plant growth was the cause of the giant mole. But, the farmer said that recently, the mole was becoming rowdy and very ferocious, and it never had red eyes before. I made my own very obvious assumption after that- it was possessed.

Aaron had returned recently, his clothes ripped. He wouldn't tell us where he went and what happened to him- I was worried for him.

I sat next to Amy11, and gave her a grin. She smiled back up at me, and pecked me on the cheek.

"Hey there," she greeted me. "Have you read this?" she asked, waving today's newspaper in my face. "There's been another murder, but this one was a lot more ferocious then the last one. The body had been completely ripped apart and disembowelled this time, with scratch marks all over it." I took the paper from her, and started reading. I finished a grimace on my face from the gory account in the paper.

We'd been aided by our new friend, Dream Decay (I called him Dream for short) and Mark, who knew a thing or two about the giant mole in chasing and defeating it. We hadn't had much luck yet, though. Speak of the devil, I thought, as Dream and Mark walked up to us cheerily.

Following them was a man. This man wore a hard hat on his head, and a camouflage shirt and trousers. He wore a buckled leather belt with a whip attached to it, a gold amulet around his neck, and big brown boots. He had a massive brown rucksack on his back. He looked like a tough nut, with bulging muscles, a high level of 65, and his shiny red whip.

"Hello mate!" he cried joyfully in an unfamiliar accent. "You must be this young lad my friend Mark was talking about here. I'm Colin the Collector. It's nice to meet you." He stepped forward, and shook my hand so vigorously it was almost as if he wanted to yank it off. I stammered nervously.

"If you're a collector, what are you a collector of?" I stuttered. Colin laughed loudly.

"I'm a proud collector of animal trophies," he replied. "I travel RuneScape, taking down large animals, and keeping a part of them as a trophy. I'm here because my friend here, Mark, called me to help take down a giant mole. A giant mole claw would make a perfect trophy!"

"I have a plan, you see. I have here, some mole bait. I specially went out and bought this from a local farmer's shop. Instead of buying the small amount, I bought the sack-o-the-stuff!" He pulled a smelly brown bag out his rucksack proudly. I shuddered at the stench of rotting weeds.

Colin emptied the contents of the sack in the middle of the gardens, and waited. I sighed, tapping my feet impatiently. I hoped this plan was going to work now. I wasn't expecting it to work.

The ground started to shudder, and my impatience seemed to dissolve instantly in excitement and fear. Under my feet, the ground was literally ripped open, and I fell, screaming. I felt a little bit of déjà vu.

I fell deeper and deeper into the ground, before I finally landed on something brown, furry, soft, and smelly. I almost screamed when I realised it was the giant mole. There was a roar, and the mole started moving slowly. I looked up, and I could see I was in a massive tunnel made from earth. The mole was digging further, and I was being showered with bits of filth and earth. There was another roar. I wasn't sure if the mole was aware that I was here. I had to endure this for at least ten minutes.

A throwing axe flew over my head, and hit the mole on the nose. Mark stood behind me triumphantly, with Dream Decay, Amy11 and Colin the Collector standing behind him. They'd chased after me in the tunnel. The mole roared again (this mole did a LOT of roaring), and a shockwave the mole created with its claw nearly blasted me off my feet. The tunnel caved in around me, and when I looked up, I could see sunlight. The mole jumped up, and smashed its whole body intro the ground. The whole tunnel vibrated, and collapsed. I was completely buried under over ten feet of earth.

I was panicking. I couldn't breathe, I was suffocating. I dug through the earth frantically using my fingernails, trying to escape from death itself. Lack of oxygen was starting to get to my head, and I was feeling dizzy. I heard the mole roar from the distance. Just as I started to slip from reality, I found a pocket of air. I gulped it up thankfully, but it wouldn't be long before the oxygen ran out. I continued digging, but oxygen deprivation was returning, unavoidable, inevitable. Trying to run from it in this situation was like trying to run from my own shadow. I started sinking into unconsciousness again.

I woke up suddenly. I wasn't stuck under the earth any more! I looked up, and saw the sky. I was on the surface. I could breathe again! I coughed up earth, breathing in the oxygen gratefully. I looked at my saviour.

It was none other then Ilookgood99. He stood there, staring down at me, a smile playing on his lips.

"It's you!" I yelled accusingly. "Why do you keep popping in? Why did you save my life? Why won't you give me straight answers about anything?"

"I have nothing to say for myself," Ilookgood99 answered. "I can't answer your questions. As for saving your life, I was only passing through. I can't just leave you die-you're too important to lose suddenly." Before I could question him further, he vanished in a puff of smoke.

I huffed angrily. He always had to be the mysterious man. Why couldn't he just spit it out? Why was he hesitating in telling me the great 'secret' he was hiding about me? It can't have been a coincidence, him popping in and saving my life like that. But I couldn't dwell much on Ilookgood99- I had more problems to worry about in the form of a giant mole.

I spun around to face the gardens, and instead I was faced with a gigantic pit. The garden had been completely ripped open and dug out by the giant mole. The area of the Falador wall which was behind the gardens had been smashed down, and the pavement I was standing on was cracked and smashed. In the pit, dead bodies lay scattered. A very familiar roar shook the whole city. Falador guards rushed towards me.

"What's going on here?" One of them questioned. "What the hell happened to the gardens?" His question was answered as the hairy beast which happened to be a mole flew out of the ground. Amy11, Mark, Dream Decay, and Colin the Collector ran towards it. They were all caked with filthy brown earth.

I skidded down into the pit which used to be a garden, closely followed by five Falador guards. The others spun around to greet me.

"I thought you'd suffocated," Amy11 said, relieved.

"I was saved by….a passing stranger," I replied. She nodded, and ran forward to give me a hug. "Now let's take down this filthy overgrown mole once and for all!" I shouted. My confidence evaporated as I faced the gigantic beast. The giant mole roared-it sounded like a battle-cry.

Two guards were crushed by a flying paw. A shockwave flew through the ground at the impact, blowing me off my feet. I stood up, dusted myself off, and ran forward again. The mole roared in my face again. Its breath stunk rotten and putrid. While its mouth was open, I thrust Silverlight through its jaw. There was another roar, but this one wasn't of rage- this roar was of pain. Filthy red blood dripped onto the floor. The mole swept its paw towards me, and I was sent flying into Colin.

Colin sat up, and ran forward. With a strike of his whip, he sent the mole reeling. The mole seemed to do a noise which was a cross between a hiss and another roar, and it crushed Colin with another strike of a paw. The remaining three guards ran forward to assist the injured Colin, but they were swallowed whole by the enraged mole. There was an unpleasant crunching sound as the mole ate the guards alive. The mole spat out some soaking armour pieces, and continued towards us.

Mark took lead then. He ran forward, yelling. He threw three throwing axes. One struck the mole in the back, and it was as effective as throwing a ball of paper at it. The second hit it in the nose. It squirmed in discomfort, and roared (yet again). The third went right on target, and hit the mole in the eye. The mole screamed in pain as it was blinded. With a slam of a giant paw, the ground shook, and Mark was half-buried under several feet of earth. The mole ran forward, and sent Mark flying into the wall opposite.

Amy11 ran forward, but was bowled over before she even had a chance of attacking. Dream jumped up, and landed behind the mole. The mole spun around, and Dream jumped up, and landed behind the mole again. Confused, the mole spun around, and the act was repeated. I saw what Dream was trying to do- confuse the mole to find a hole in its defences. I sent a 'confuse' spell its way to try and help Dream, but it did nothing to the bulk of fur, teeth and muscle that was the giant mole. Dream then landed on the mole's back, and sunk his bronze scimitar into the mole's flesh. There was a bellow that shook the earth, and the mole blasted Dream off its back.

We all gathered together. "The physical approach doesn't seem to be working. Do all of us know how to use a fire spell?" I asked. Everyone nodded. "Does everyone have runes on them?" there was another flurry of nodding. "OK, at the count of three, we'll all use a fire spell on the mole." Everyone nodded again. The mole eyed us suspiciously with its remaining functional eye.

"One….two…..THREE!" I bellowed. Everyone shouted 'fire strike/blast!' simultaneously, and several spurts of fire flew towards the mole, combining to become one raging, flaming fireball. I could feel its heat from here. The mole seemed to shiver in fright, and cowered back from the majesty of white-hot flames. It tried to dig away, but it wasn't quick enough. It was engulfed in the fireball, and I could hear it screaming in pain as it was roasted alive.

It rolled around in filth, and the flames were extinguished. It seemed to have shrunk slightly, there were black patches in its fur, and its eyes were a beady black now. It was no longer possessed. It gave us a terrified look. I sighed with relief.

"It's safe now," I laughed. "It seems that the fire did the trick. It's no longer possessed." But I heard a smash, and a yelp. I spun around, and the farmer that I had a run-in with earlier stood there, rigid with fury, holding a spade, with a surprised mole standing next to him. The farmer hit the mole again across the head. The mole hissed. Colin stepped forward, laughing.

"You've got it all wrong," he said. "This is how you do it." Colin took the spade off the farmer, and smashed the spade into the mole's head. I heard a crack. The mole fell to the floor, unconscious. Colin hit it again twice to make sure, and used a dagger from his pocket to slit the mole's throat.

"What did you do that for?" I yelled. "That creature isn't possessed any more!"

"Look around you!" the farmer snapped back. "Look what this monster has done to my beautiful garden! It's gone from becoming a pocket of beautiful nature to a pit in the ground! I can't let anything that does that go." The farmer stomped off. Colin bounced forward. He started sawing the mole's paw off with his dagger. After a minute, it came off, and Colin lifted it up and put it in his rucksack.

"Well, I've got what I came for," he chirped cheerily. "I'm off. Bye!" At that, he walked off. Mark followed. Dream gave me a grim smile, and walked off too, leaving me with Amy11, standing in a pit of filth, with a deceased mole nearby, surrounded by rubble. It really wasn't a pretty sight. I decided to leave. I clambered out of the pit, Amy11 following.

It had been a strange day. I'd encountered collectors from foreign lands, ferocious giant moles, and angry farmers with spades, and Ilookgood99. I wondered if my day-to-day life could get any weirder. I also was still worrying about Aaron- what was wrong? Where had he gone? Why wouldn't he talk about it?

* * *

_I hope you liked that._

_As mentioned before, Dream is a part of the Sphere of Varrock-The adventure through RuneScape shared universe. It was explained in detail last chapter._

_This chapter was written for the purpose of giving me a short break from writing heavy fanfic. No heavy plotlines, just laid-back, relaxed writing. it also gave me some laughs- you may have noticed it was slightly random._

_Next chapter-Mainiac97 meets his match...._

_Until next time, toodles!_

_P.S. I am in the steps of starting off a brand new RuneScape fanfiction called 'History of a Tramp'. keep your eyes peeled for tha__t!_


	69. Chapter 69: Cloned

_**Chapter 69: Cloned**_

"Not another one," I groaned as I stepped out of the general store. I was clutching a newspaper that I'd bought, and, yet another murder had happened. This time, as well as the victim being ripped apart, the body had been dumped into the white knight castle moat. It was truly terrible.

I really hoped this murderer would be caught soon. It was getting ridiculous- six people were dead now because of him/her. Who would want to perform such horrible crimes against nature? It was disgusting.

King David was standing on a temporary platform, placed in the middle of Falador square. He was wearing a bottle-blue suit, and he looked grave. Several bodyguards stood around the platform. The atmosphere in the crowd gathered in front wasn't excited- it was tense. Sir Amik Varze stood behind him. I'd gone into the shop to get a newspaper while the crowd was gathering.

"Citizens of Falador," he announced. "I have been called down from business in Ardougne to discuss a very urgent matter with you."

"There have been murders recently. These murders have been terrible- bodies ripped apart and drained of blood. These murders need to stop."

"Not only have there been murders, but more disturbing events have been happening. Recently, a crazed giant mole completely destroyed the Falador Gardens. Gone, just like that. Such a beautiful place was completely destroyed by rage."

"Now, terrible things have been happening for a while, but this is hitting the limit. Lives are being lost because of one monster of a human being."

"A professional investigation is being held about the murderers. We urge you, if you know anything, to tell us. Thanks for listening. By the way, wanted posters for a particular Gypsy Aris have been placed everywhere. If you know anything about her whereabouts, we'd appreciate information."

We were all ushered out of the square by several bodyguards. I walked back to Capablanca's house, passing the pit which used to be the gardens.

I walked into Capablanca's house, and into the living room, where everyone was sitting, except for Aaron.

"Where is Aaron?" I asked, knowing that all I would get back would be a shrug. I was right. I swore loudly. "Where the hell is he? He's been disappearing a lot recently. I hope he's OK."

I decided to go for a chat with Jamie. I hadn't talked to him in a while, because I'd been so busy with helping with the attempt to try and repair the area of destruction around the Falador gardens. The gardens themselves were way beyond repair- how could you fix a pit in the floor? Osrie1, Mark and Amy11 decided to come with me. We left the house, and walked back down the street.

The streets were almost deserted. People were afraid of leaving the safety of their houses since the murders. The air was chilly, and there was a sinister aura floating around. The wind seemed to fill the surrounding space. I gulped, and continued.

As we walked into town square, I was shocked to see two dark figures in black robes standing by the statue. They ignored us, and I eavesdropped in their conversation.

"The next time I see good old Dave, I'm going to give him a pat on the back," one said to the other. "Thanks to him and his speech on the murderer, nobody is around. It's amazing how gullible crowds are. Now we have peace to wait for our subject to come (because he always does, he seems to be a danger magnet), and then we can start the experiment. If he doesn't show up, we'll go looking for him." One of them looked up, and saw us. He chuckled. "Look, James, at who has come to join us."

I was shocked to see James pull down his hood, revealing his bushy black hair, gorilla-thumb moustache, and his sly grin.

"Well, speak of the devil," James chuckled. "Hello, Mainiac97. I've been waiting for you. We haven't met for a while, haven't we? I would like to test a theory on you."

"You see, Mainiac97, I have not been sitting on a rock doing nothing all winter. Master Samuel is a very busy man, and I, being his left-hand assistant, am given jobs to do on a daily rate that my master cannot do himself. But, there are the times where I have nothing to do. So, I use that time wisely, working on a theory that I and my friend have been developing."

"Who is your friend?" I asked suspiciously. He pointed to the cloaked man that was standing next to him. "Who are you?" I asked him. He chuckled.

"Young one," he replied. "You may remember me from the Stronghold of Security." I remembered him as the mysterious cloaked man that kept popping up in my dreams. "I am another assistant of Master Samuel. My name will remain a mystery to you. For now, you can call me the mysterious cloaked man- wait, no. Maybe that's a bit of a mouthful. Call me MCM." I raised an eyebrow. MCM was a strange pseudonym.

James interrupted my thoughts. "Anyway, I was talking about my theory," he reminded me. "My theory is, simply, it is impossible to defeat yourself. Physically, that is. It may sound odd, but my theory is, if you were faced with someone that was exactly like you- someone who WAS you- in every aspect, you couldn't defeat that person. That person would think like you, fight like you, strategise like you, because that person would BE you. It's a simple, yet ever so complex theory, and I'm amazed that my brain is random enough to even consider it."

"I developed on this theory, and with the help of MCM, I decided to create a copy of someone. Another word you could use is clone. After discussion, we decided to use you as our test subject. A special potion is needed to do this. It is something which recreates you exactly. It's a fairly complex potion, but not as complex as the potion Master Samuel is brewing. A potion which requires an ingredient such as essence of Delrith is probably the hardest potion to brew in the whole of RuneScape- but the result will be worth the work."

"Some ingredients for our cloning potion were fairly easy to get, but others weren't so easy. I needed a drop of cloning mix to recreate myself, and there are only a few bottles in the world. Isn't it a miracle that I find a bottle in the Lumbridge general store, of all places? Mind you, it wasn't cheap. It would have cost me over 30 million coins if I were to buy it the normal way. But, thanks to my amazing thievery skills, I had it for absolutely nothing!" I thought I'd seen the bottle somewhere before. Wasn't it the expensive bottle of swirly black stuff that I'd seen, gathering dust on a shelf? It sounded like it.

"So I've worked on the potion in my spare time, and it is done at last. I just need one more ingredient- a piece of you. A hair would suffice." He finished his explanation- more like his brag- with a flourish. During this speech, I hadn't noticed that the MCM was sneaking behind me. He grabbed my arms violently. I struggled, and failed miserably. He sniggered.

"You'll have to do better then that, noob," he sneered. That obnoxious tone of voice sounded ever so familiar to me….where had I heard it before?

James walked forward, and yanked some of my hairs out. I yelped in pain. James took a vial full of swirling, disgusting green liquid out of his pocket, and dropped the hairs in. The potion turned a scarlet shade of red, and bubbled aggressively. It exploded, and filled the area with filthy black smoke.

I coughed, and my vision was obscured by the smoke. When it cleared, the vial was nowhere in sight. Instead, someone stood there. I gasped- this person looked exactly like me. "Meet the new Mainiac97," James announced.

My clone looked exactly like me. It was like staring into a mirror. I could sense that he was thinking exactly the same thing. The only difference was that the smile seemed slightly different (more sinister- of course, his master WAS James), and that he had a dark version of Silverlight, instead of the normal one. He even had the same clothes, the same weapons, the same everything!

"Hello," the other Mainiac97 announced. "I'm Mainiac97."

"No," I protested. "I'm Mainiac97. I'm the original!"

"No! I am!" he shouted back.

"No! I am!" I replied angrily.

"I am!"

"I am!"

"I am!"

"I am!"

"Prove it to me!" the other Mainiac97 spat. "I'll prove to you that I'm stronger then you! Then you'll believe that I'm the real Mainiac97!"

"OK then!" I spat back. The MCM let go of me, and I ran forward to attack this imposter. James chuckled silently.

I tried to hit my clone in the ribs with my sword, but he had the same idea, and blocked me. I tried smashing my Barbarian hammer into his skull, but he cried to knee me in the crotch. I dodged, and tried to knock his head off with the hammer. He did the same thing, and we collided. I swung around with Silverlight, but he dodged.

"This is going nowhere," I groaned. We continued fighting in a similar fashion for another ten minutes.

I was gasping for air by the end of it. I knew what James was trying to do- he was practicing his theory. Once we were both too exhausted to fight any more, he'd kill me very easily. That way, he could get revenge, prove a theory, and cause misery all in one package. It was genius, even though I didn't like admitting it.

I tried to think of loopholes in his theory. Obviously, I physically couldn't defeat my clone twin, since we looked alike, and thought alike. But…..other people or things could defeat him. Very easily, since they thought/moved differently. That settled it. I couldn't try and attack him physically. I needed to use a different approach by getting some help. The other Mainiac97 was thinking the same way, searching for tactics to use. I looked up, and behind the other Mainiac97 the famous Falador statue stood, tall and high. Could I use that somehow?

As a last resort, I threw my Barbarian hammer at the other Mainiac97. He ducked, and it flew right over his head. It hit the Saradomin statue's head, and the head cracked, and fell off its body. It landed on the other Mainiac97. He was knocked out in an instant. I went up to him, and stamped on his neck until I heard the crack.

"Sorry, but there's room for only one Mainiac97 in this world," I told the dead body at my feet. James looked furious, since I'd just poked a massive gaping hole in his logic. His theory was that you couldn't defeat yourself. My theory is you could defeat yourself, but only by accident. So, that way, you weren't really defeating yourself. I made that rock fall by accident, and my clone couldn't know when to dodge, because I never intended to make that statue head fall on him.

"Darn it," James muttered as he was wrestled to the ground by Mark. "This has been a disaster. I'm going. Remember, I'll get my revenge." At that, he disappeared in a puff of smoke. The MCM sighed.

"I can take the four of you on," he said. "But I won't bother tackling you noobs. Goodbye." In another puff of smoke, he was gone too.

We continued across the bridge leading to the white knight castle as if nothing had happened. I was very shocked at the events of today. I hoped that the murderer would be caught soon, and I hoped that James wouldn't have any more spare time to practice another theory where I was the test subject.

I also wondered who the MCM (mysterious cloaked man) really was. Hidden underneath that cloak, where nobody could see his face. That was another mystery out of a million I needed to solve in this world.

I finally hoped that Aaron was OK, wherever he was, whatever he was doing. There was never a very peaceful moment in my life. One day, possibly, that could change. I just needed to wait.

* * *

_I hope you enjoyed that chapter. Maybe it seemed a bit odd- a theory about defeating yourself?- but I wanted to bring back James and evil-Mainiac97 in one wya or another. So, who do you think the MCM really is?_

_I have a little poll here. In chapter 72, Mainiac is going to meet an old enemy with improvements and have an epic fight with that enemy. who should the enemy be?_

_A) The Demon Clan_

_or....  
_

_B) The Noob exterminators_

_Leave your answer in a review!_

_next time: Happy Easter everyone!_

_Until next time, toodles!  
_


	70. Chapter 70: A Green Easter

_Hello, hello, hello, what's happenin', readers?_

_Happy Easter to everyone! If you want to understand more about the way the factory works and everything, I suggest you skim through chapter 35 again.  
_

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_**Chapter 70: A Green Easter**_

I walked through the streets of Falador market cheerfully. The place was crowded, which was a pleasant change, considering that there was a brutal murderer among us. There was a good reason why too.

Today was Easter Sunday, and stalls had been set up in the streets, selling Easter goodies. I was eating a small but very delicious crème egg (I remembered these from last year) that I'd bought in a stall which was behind me. I passed stalls selling roasted rabbits for Easter dinner, different-sized baskets, and, obviously, massive wrapped Easter eggs! My bag was almost full of the eggs I'd bought today.

A baker ran up to me, holding a tray of very small buns with white crosses on them. I could see small wrinkled raisins in the pastry of the bun.

"Excuse me?" the baker said. "Are you interested in trying a free sample of the new Easter hot cross bun? It's a special delicacy that's only around on Easter, invented by the Easter Bunny himself and baked by us." I thanked the baker, took a sample, and chewed into it. It was beautiful! It was really sweet and puffy.

"I think you've started something here," I smiled. "How much do they cost?" The baker grinned.

"20gp, please," he replied. I took out the money, and exchanged for a large hot cross bun. I chewed on it enthusiastically, savouring the sweet taste.

As I continued down the street, a massive hole appeared underneath me. The Easter market was so crowded it didn't seem like anybody else noticed. I fell into swirling blackness, screaming as I was dragged away into the unknown.

I landed with a thump on a hard, muddy surface. I groaned, and sat up, surveying my surroundings. My half-eaten hot cross bun stood a few feet away, coated with dirt.

I recognised where I was immediately, and I was so glad to be here again. I was in the Easter Bunny's factory! I stared fondly at the row of machines in front of me that brought back sweet memories. Well, almost sweet. Well, quite bitter, to be honest, considering that an evil wizard nearly ruined Easter a year ago. There were two differences- the first was that a new machine had been built, where bunnies and imps were working to make hot cross buns. The second difference was that crates of stock had been piled up at the back.

People appeared around me. These people were Osrie1, Amy11, Mark, and, very surprisingly, Haru Axe-man from Varrock! I bounced towards them as a look of comprehension spread across their faces as they realised where they were. I greeted Haru cordially.

"How are we here anyway?" Osrie1 asked. "I was exploring the Falador Easter market, and then all of a sudden I'm here."

"I'm sorry to say I'm to blame for that," a voice answered. Two fluffy white ears appeared from the ground, and the familiar figure of the Easter Bunny pulled himself out of a hole.

He was, unsurprisingly, still covered in white fur, with long white ears. He was still rather plump, and he looked like he hadn't aged much in the past year. He grinned at us.

"Hello, friends," he greeted. "It's nice to see you again. I remember a few of you from last year, when you helped me with a problem involving an evil wizard. I'm sorry to drag you down here on such short notice. Well, the new form of transportation is more convenient, rather then digging tunnels to find you and turning you into bunnies to take you here."

"It's nice to see you again too," I commented. "Why did you take us down here?" The Easter Bunny gave me a nervous grin.

"I have two reasons," he explained. "My first reason is, simply, I wanted to have a catch-up and give you some free Easter eggs as a token of thanks for what you did last year. My second reason is I need your help again."

"You need help with what?" Haru asked kindly. "We're always glad to help." The Easter Bunny smiled gratefully.

"I have great rewards for you if you can help me," he said. "I've received a threatening letter from somebody. You'll need to read it to understand." He handed us a green card with a note on it.

_Dear Easter Bunny,_

_I am sending you this to notify you that, on Easter Sunday, in the afternoon, me and my friends will pay your factory a visit, but not for a cup of tea and a chat. We'll be coming to destroy your factory, and then we'll proceed to destroy you. It's nothing personal, don't worry._

_Yours truly,_

_?_

Underneath the 'yours truly', a four-leaved clover had been stuck on, next to the '?'. I gaped, open-mouthed, at the very threatening letter. The Easter Bunny coughed.

"I am not sure who send it," he explained. "I don't know what that clover means. I'm not even sure if this person is going to show up. But I would appreciate if you would supply me with some extra security, just in case this person does show up to destroy me. Not that I can't protect myself, or that my imps are incapable of doing it. I'd just like some extra protection."

"Sure," I smiled. "We'll be glad to hang around to protect you." The Easter Bunny beamed at us, lighting up the whole room.

While the Easter Bunny was chatting about several different things, I was watching the interesting Easter-egg making procedure. It hadn't changed much since last time- buckets of chocolate mix travelling along conveyor belts, being turned into eggs. But I did notice one thing different.

"Hey, Easter Bunny," I said. "What are those beans that the squirrels are adding to the chocolate mix buckets? I didn't spot them last year." The squirrels at the sorting machine where nuts were added to specific mixes were handling a brown bean with some sort of crack going through the middle, as well as ordinary nuts. The Easter Bunny smiled.

"Ah," he said. "That. That is an extremely rare bean called the coffee bean, which some explorers discovered in the depths of Karamja and only they and I know about. It is a very delicious, strong bean which can be used in a manner of things. It is especially delicious roasted and dipped in honey. I'm in the process of inventing a drink out of it. I'm trying to keep the recipe secret at the moment, but I'm making very limited amounts of coffee-flavoured Easter eggs, which I plan to charge high prices for. Here, try a coffee bean." he handed me a shiny brown roasted coffee bean. I took it and crunched it thoughtfully.

It had a very delicate, acquired taste that I couldn't really describe. It was sort of bitter, but I liked it. It seemed to energise me and fill me with energy and enthusiasm. I felt like my senses were on high alert.

"It energises you, doesn't it?" the Easter Bunny said cheerfully. "If given to the wrong person, it could make them hyperactive. It's a shame the effects don't last long. You won't be energised for much longer then two minutes."

I picked my half-eaten, filthy hot cross bun miserably. The Easter Bunny chuckled.

"Sorry for that," he laughed. "I'll give you a handful of them free in your goody basket to make up for it." I thanked the small, plump bunny, but before I could say anything more, there was a small explosion, and the area filled with green smoke.

Out of the smoke, a small army of imps came. But these imps weren't an ordinary red, like the Easter Bunny's imp workers- they were a light green, the colour of grass. Evil smirks were plastered on this mischievous faces, and I had to raise my eyebrow at their leader.

Their leader was a very short, sort of plump man, who had wrinkled skin, a ginger beard and small glasses. He wore a green tweed jacket, green trousers, a green top hat, and he held a small, green wand in his hand. There was a shamrock pinned to his hat.

"Hello, bunny," the man said. "I assume you got my note?"

"Who are you?" I yelled angrily. The short man chuckled.

"Young lad, I am Seamus, and I am a leprechaun," he replied.

"What's a leprechaun, and why have you come here to destroy this factory?" I shouted in return.

"I can answer that one," the Easter Bunny muttered darkly. "Leprechauns are like elves- magical, mythical creatures which come from a far-off land. Their personalities differ. Some are simply mischievous. Some are slightly wicked. But others, like Seamus here, are vile, evil, jealous creatures that will go to end of the world and back to get someone into deep trouble. But I don't know why he's here." Seamus giggled.

"Thanks a lot, bunny," he sneered. "Couldn't have put it better myself. As for why I'm here, I'm on a mission to defend my homeland's honour."

"You see, my homeland has its own celebration, where everybody dresses up in green and wears shamrocks. But, nobody else celebrates it, because of fatty here." He jabbed a finger at the Easter Bunny, who looked confused.

"How?" he questioned.

"Nobody's interested in me and my holiday any more," Seamus snarled. "They're more interested in chocolate eggs and plump bunnies. I do not feel like I am getting enough appreciation around here! Aye, 'tis not healthy for me, the holiday itself, my homeland's pride, and leprechauns in general. So, I'm going ahead in my plan to completely destroy Easter."

With a flick of his wand, a shower of green sparks was sent flying towards the Easter Bunny, and before he could say or do anything, the sparks hit him, and he disappeared in a puff of green smoke. Instead, on the floor, a gold coin lay there.

"You turned the Easter Bunny into a gold coin!" I gasped.

"Thanks a lot, captain obvious," Seamus sniggered.

There was a massive uproar in the factory as all the bunnies, imps and squirrels realised what the leprechaun had done to their boss. There was a massive surge of activity as most of the workers rushed forward, but the green imps ran forward to counter them.

"Thanks, luck imps," Seamus laughed. "Once the workers have been disposed of, we can proceed to destroy the factory and dispose of the Easter Bunny/coin. I'll start off by destroying you lot." He pointed his wand towards me. A shower of green sparks flew out of the end. I jumped to one side just in time. The sparks hit a nearby luck imp, and that imp burst into green flames. After ten seconds of burning and screaming, all that remained was a pile of dark green ashes.

"Nice aim, boss," another luck imp muttered darkly. Seamus ignored him, and turned to me again. He sent some more green sparks at me, but I managed to dodge just in time again.

"Aye, you're a quick one," he commented. "CALLING ALL LUCK IMPS! STOP FIGHTING!" Everyone turned to face Seamus.

"Young lad," he said, addressing me. "I'd like to test your wits. I'm going to use some leprechaun magic to see how well you react. Here's the deal; if you can find me, stop me, and disarm me before I kill you, then I will turn the Easter Bunny back to normal, call off my attack on this factory, and leave you all in peace." At that, he disappeared in a puff of green smoke.

All around me, I could hear cackling and taunting as the leprechaun teleported around me repeatedly to confuse me. I spun around desperately, but I could only see green smoke. I screamed in pain as something hit my side.

My reflexes weren't good enough to catch this leprechaun while he was teleporting. He was too agile for me. I needed something to speed me up. Something to double my reflexes. Something to energise me.

Then it hit me. Coffee beans! Coffee beans energised you and improved your reflexes. But how could I get coffee beans without attracting the attention of Seamus? I spotted the crates piled up at the back. I threw a rock at the crates, hoping to make the pile topple so I could use some of the beans. The pile of crates collapsed, and coffee beans spilled all over the floor. I scooped up a handful, and stuffed them in my mouth.

They were really bitter when you ate them all together raw, and I found myself cringing. But the effect was almost instantaneous- I found myself filling to the brim with energy. It was too much energy; my whole body was vibrating. I found myself jumping around. My senses were electrified. I could hear every breath in this room, see the room in high detail, and I could even smell the coffee and chocolate in the air. I saw the figure of Seamus appear for a split second, and, before he could teleport behind me; I grabbed him by the scruff of the neck, and lifted him off his feet.

"Hey!" Seamus yelled. "Let go!"

"I've won your challenge," I hissed. "Leave now, or else." I was all charged up now. Seamus sighed, looking angry.

"Yes, I'll leave you alone now, and I'll turn the Easter Bunny back, but this won't be the last you'll see of me," he grumbled. "Oh no. The Easter Bunny will see the last of me now, because I've realised what type of friends he has. However, you'll be seeing me again, very soon." At that, green smoke filled the room suddenly. When the smoke cleared, all the lucky imps were gone, the Easter Bunny sat there looking shocked, and Seamus was gone. Instead, I was holding a pot full of shiny golden coins. If I looked at it from a particular direction, then I could see a small rainbow coming from it.

"I thought leprechauns were mischievous. Why has he given me a pot of gold?" I pondered.

"Don't trust him," Haru muttered. "I've heard of leprechauns and their pots of gold. That's not real gold; it's leprechaun gold. If you tried trading it, it would disappear."

"Then what's the use of it?" I asked nobody in particular. "Besides, if he holds such a grudge on me, why would he gift me?"

"I think he held a small amount of respect for you," the Easter Bunny answered. "I mean, it was genius of you to think of using coffee to your advantage! As for what it does, if you put leprechaun pots of gold down on the floor in the open air while it's sunny, then it'll create a rainbow. Apparently, it works best in the spring or the summer." I nodded. "If you put your hand in, you may find something valuable every now and then. But beware, you may be tricked. You don't know what it does."

I put my hand in, and rummaged through the gold coins. I found an experience lamp (which I planned to add to my already massive collection) and golden ring with an emerald shaped like a four-leaved clover. I slipped the ring on, and pressed the emerald. I had the strange sensation of melting into myself, and to my shock and surprise, I turned to a golden coin. I began panicking. How could I reverse this? But, like with the egg ring, I thought myself back into human form.

"That's meant to be a leprechaun trick, but Seamus used it for evil," Osrie1 said. I shrugged, and pocketed the ring. I guess the ring could be useful. As for the pot of gold, I could use it as a decoration, checking back occasionally for valuables (obviously watching out for leprechaun pranks).

"Well, for another year in a row, I'm in your debt," the Easter Bunny said. "I'm in your debt especially, Mainiac97. You've saved Easter from becoming a total disaster (again). Besides, I owe my life to you. That leprechaun really would have killed me purely out of envy if it weren't for you and your quick thinking, using coffee to your advantage. You kept your cool in a difficult situation, so you'll each find a little extra reward in the bottom of your goody basket." I thanked him several times. He chuckled. "I should be thanking you. I owe you one."

He handed us all baskets full of Easter eggs, hot cross buns, crème eggs, and some coffee beans. He gave me and Haru extra ones, to share some more Easter eggs with our friends in Falador/Varrock that didn't come here. I shook Haru's hand. The Easter Bunny clicked his fingers, and I was dragged upwards into darkness.

I appeared in the middle of Falador market. People were still bustling around me, taking advantage of the Easter market while it was still there. I ran back to Capablanca's house as quick as I could.

I arrived back, panting. People were crowded in the kitchen, enjoying some snacks Capablanca had set out. I walked in to join them, and I noticed one person missing again- Aaron.

I felt around in my goody basket, and at the bottom, I felt something rather furry. I pulled it out, and it was a pair of fake squirrel ears. A note was attached. The note read:

_Wearing these ears, you maybe find yourself with some squirrel-like characteristics (like increased agility and sense of smell, for example). It also serves as part of a costume. Happy Easter!_

I smiled fondly at my new Easter rewards. I planned to store them safe in my bank on the shelf that housed all my event rewards. In total, all of my Easter rewards were the egg ring, the Choclatrice cape, the Easter carrot, the pot of gold, the leprechaun ring, and the squirrel ears.

I stepped outside in Capablanca's garden. The evening sun was high in the sky, shining down on the earth below, creating a massive array of pinks, oranges and purples. A pleasant breeze swept through the city, and the birds were chirping. I shuddered as I realised this was probably the last time I'd see such beauty in nature. I set the pot of gold down on the ground, and a beautiful rainbow flew into the sky.

I'd had quite an odd, but amazing day. Even jealous leprechauns and loose murderers couldn't dampen the positives of the day; the meeting of two old friends (Haru and the Easter Bunny), the celebrations of Easter, and more.

As I stared up in wonder at the amazing sight, I heard a voice whisper in my ear.

"Remember what I said, Mainiac97," the voice whispered. "You'll never see the last of me. That coffee won't last you forever, and as soon as it's all gone, it'll be my moment to strike." I heard a final cackle, before the voice disappeared.

I was quite scared, to be honest; the fear of having a bloodthirsty, magical leprechaun as an enemy wasn't a pleasant one, but the moment was too beautiful to waste. I had to savour every amazing moment that I got, because, even if I wasn't psychic, I could tell there would be suffering up ahead.

* * *

_.....and that concludes Easter special chapter 2010!_

_I hope you enjoyed the MASSIVE, original twist I added to the plot. I didn't really like this year's event that Jagex made- I found it boring. So, I changed it a lot, adding St patricks day themes to it. I do not take credit for the main insperation, which I found on the forums.  
_

_I hope my description of Seamus the leprechaun didn't offend anyone. I apologise if it did._

_my new story 'history of a tramp' is up; if you haven't read it yet, go check it out!_

_nect chapter: what's short, hairy and lives under the ground?  
_

_Until next time, toodles!  
_


	71. Chapter 71: Secrets of a Dwarf

_Hello, hello, hello, what's happenin' readers?_

_I apologise for the slow update. but I've been very busy lately for one reason or another. To make up for it, this chapter will be especially long. Please enjoy!  
_

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_**Chapter 71: Secrets of the Dwarves**_

I stared at the wanted posters stuck up on the wall of the Falador bank. Some assassin called 'Bone-ripper' was wanted, but that was an old poster that had been up for quite a while. The mystery murderer that was making life in Falador a living hell was still wanted. Gypsy Aris was still wanted for 'treason', although I couldn't exactly see why.

Easter had passed, and the market was gone for another year. I'd gotten two old Easter event rewards, like I usually did at seasonal events. I'd picked some bunny ears and a comical chicken costume as my two rewards this year. All of my rewards now were the Easter cape, the egg ring, the carrot hammer, the bunny ears, the chicken costume, the squirrel ears, the pot of gold, and the leprechaun ring. All of them were safe and sound in my bank.

I walked casually out of the bank. I gave the sky a rather depressed and angry look as it gave me an unwelcoming rumble. Slinky ran up to me, gasping for breath.

"Sir Amik Varze wants to talk to us," she spluttered. I nodded, and followed her into the white knight castle as the first few drops of rain fell.

We climbed the shining white steps, and arrived at the door of Sir Amik Varze's office. Slinky stepped up, and rapped on the door. There was an "Enter!" from inside, and we did so.

The office was full of people. Jamie and Cedric stood behind Sir Amik Varze, who was sitting in his chair, looking very sombre. Osrie1, Amy11 and Capablanca stood in front of the desk nervously. Aaron stood nearby, looking very twitchy. His eyes darted around the room suspiciously, and he had a bit of a ruffled look about him.

"Where's Mark?" I asked. I got a long silence in return.

"Mark left," Osrie1 explained, breaking the silence.

"Why?" I gasped, rather shocked.

"His family called him," Amy11 replied seriously. "His village, Rellekka, was attacked by bandits and pirates who came by sea, and he needed to leave urgently to protect it. He said he may return, but he wasn't sure when, or if he even could." I nodded seriously. I would miss Mark. He was a great member of the team, and I wished him luck in his attempt to protect his village.

I gave Aaron a concerned glance. He looked shaken; I wondered what was wrong with him, and I hoped he was OK. I hoped he realised that he could talk to us any time he wanted.

"People," Sir Amik Varze began. "I called you here because I need your help. Let me explain.

"There is a dwarf called Doric that lives nearby. He is a businessman as well as a miner in the dwarf mines under Falador, and he makes a lot of money by selling ores, metal bars, weapons, and armour. He crafts the finest armour in the whole of RuneScape. The white knights like to help Doric out by mining ore for him, since he is a very busy dwarf and occasionally is unable to do it himself. He is a good friend to the white knights, and in exchange for all the work the white knights do for him, he makes us armour for free. It is useful, and saves me a lot of money.

"Recently, he has been busy, and has asked kindly for our help in getting the ore he needs. I'd be very grateful if you went to him to help him on my behalf."

"Why can't the white knights do it themselves?" Amy11 asked.

"Under the circumstances, I don't think it would be appropriate to take a white knight away from his job. Remember, there are several criminals on the loose at the moment, but we don't want to offend our good friend Doric by refusing to help him. I'll reward you very well if you help us," he replied rather coldly. I thought about this for a moment, and nodded.

We stepped outside. I swore angrily as I was almost washed away by a flurry of raindrops. I ran across the bridge, noticing that the moat was steadily filling.

"Where is Doric's house?" I shouted to the crowd behind me, which consisted of Amy11, Slinky, Osrie1, and Capablanca. I noticed that Aaron wasn't there. I growled; he'd disappeared again! Where did he keep going? My mood wasn't improving at all.

"He's just outside the borders of Taverley," Capablanca replied, being the white knight he is. "Beware; never mention the word 'small' to a dwarf, or you may wake up tomorrow morning with aching shins." I noticed that his slightly eccentric and over-protective personality was being hidden away by a shiny metal white helmet. I was disappointed; the Capablanca I'd grown to know was slowly being drowned by a new, harder personality. He was still protective over noobs, but it wasn't comically exaggerated like it usually was.

We ran through the town square, running down the path on our left. The musician that usually played here was using his lute to protect himself from the rain. We saw a small cottage with a field of grain next to it. Ironically, the grain was being blown away. I ran up to the door and knocked on it. The door flew open, and a small man with a ginger beard stood there, glaring up at me. I assumed he was Doric.

"What do you people want?" He demanded.

"We were sent here by Sir Amik Varze to help you," I replied, startled by this dwarf's rudeness. He sighed.

"It's about time that old man offered me some help," he sighed. "Come on in." I squeezed past him gratefully, and so did everyone else. We were all crammed inside a small house which seemed more like a room. It had a small bed in the corner, two anvils and a whetstone in another, a sink, a cupboard and a stove in another and a trapdoor that obviously led to the mines in the last one.

"This house seems a bit small," Osrie1 moaned. Doric seemed to bristle with fury, but must have thought better of arguing.

"OK, here are lists of some of the ores I need you to mine these for me," Doric barked, fetching some sheets paper with writing on them from his wardrobe and handing them out. "If you can't mine it, don't worry, just try your best and get what you can. I'll reward each of you if you can help me." I read my bit of paper. It read:

35 tin ores

35 copper ores

25 iron ores

15 silver ores

I checked my mining level in my olive-green book. The book told me I was level 15; I was just barely able to mine iron.

"I can't mine silver yet," I told Doric, who chuckled.

"Don't worry about it," he replied. "Mine all the copper, tin and iron on the list, and your level may have raised high enough to mine silver by then." I nodded. I double-checked my bag to see if my pickaxe was there, and I saw it lying at the bottom, along with my tinderbox, my woodcutting axe, my fishing net, and some other things I rarely used. I yanked it out.

"By the way, before you go, watch out for the chaos dwarves," Doric warned. "They're a group of evil dwarves that worship Zamorak. They seemed to have come from practically nowhere, and they hate humans."

"Why do they hate humans? It is because they're…" Osrie1 began, but I elbowed him in the ribs before he could say the dreaded S word. "What?" Osrie1 protested. "They are!" I sighed. I thanked a confused Doric for the warning, and I stepped down the ladder into the sea of darkness.

After my eyes adjusted to the darkness of the mines, I took a good look around me. I was surrounded by rocks, naturally, which people smashing pickaxes against them. Everything about these mines felt gloomy and depressing. Massive scorpions were scattered around, hissing at each other and the miners. Spiky rocks hung from the roof. I shivered as a drop of green fungus fell from the rocky ceiling with an unpleasant plop.

The entire gang scattered throughout the mine, choosing rocks to mine from. I decided to walk deeper into the mine, so I could avoid the scorpions.

The deeper I walked, the more dwarves I passed. They looked up at me curiously, since they probably rarely saw humans in the deep end of the mines.

I eyed a rather big iron rock, and I decided to tackle it. I sent my pickaxe flying into the rock as hard as I could, and a small amount of rock flew from it.

A dwarf passed me, but paused. He had a pretty long brown beard, and was rather chubby.

"Hello," he greeted me cheerfully. At that moment, I saw a large amount of iron ore tumble from the rock. I scooped it up, and turned around to face the dwarf.

"Hello," I replied cordially. "What's your name?"

"I don't know," he grinned. "Everyone calls me Lump, though, for some reason I can't pinpoint. You may as well call me that too." I nodded, giving him a sympathetic smile. "By the way, if I were you, I'd be careful in this area of the mine. For an unknown reason, there have been a lot of tunnels collapsing and landslides here." I thanked him for his advice, and I continued down the mine.

I gathered three tin ores, three copper ores, and another iron ore, which still left me with a fairly large amount of ore to gather. I was pretty deep into the mines now (well, at least far away from Doric's house). It was very dark, and I found it difficult to see, let alone mine safely.

"Fire strike!" I yelled. A small ball of flame came from my palm. I muttered a quick hovering spell, and the crackling ball of flame floated there. I found a good iron rock, and I began mining from it. The cave I was in was sent into deep darkness again as my ball of flame flickered, and disappeared. My eyes flickered around nervously. I stopped mining, and put my pickaxe in my belt for the time being. I pulled Silverlight out from my belt, and went into a defensive stance. The whole earth shook, and I fell to the floor, smashing my shoulder very painfully. I heard what sounded like a drilling sound, a cackle, and then the corridor caved in.

I screamed as I was buried under over ten feet of dust and rock. It was similar to being buried under earth, except more painful. I tried to shift the rock, but I was too crushed to even breathe, let alone move. But, suddenly, I felt the rocks around me shift. I crawled out, gasping for breath. I looked up at my saviour, and saw the grinning face of Lump the dwarf.

"Wow, thanks," I choked, shaking Lump's hand. "You just saved my life." Lump wasn't listening to me, though; he was looking over my shoulder with shock plastering his face. I spun around and faced my attacker.

A man wearing brown leather overalls stood in front of us. He wore a brown leather mask to I couldn't see his face- I could only see mud-brown eyes. There was an insane glint in them. He had no hands; instead, where his hands were meant to be, he had massive silver drills that looked deadly.

"Who are you?" Lump barked. He chuckled mysteriously.

"I am the Brown Beetle," he giggled. "I have been sent here by the Black Fly to kill you, Mainiac97." I backed off, eyeing those silver drills of his.

He literally dived into the ground head-first, and his drills seemed to activate automatically. They drilled into the ground, taking him with them. The whole mine shook again, and I narrowly dodged a drill which appeared under me.

The Brown Beetle kept swinging his drill at me angrily, but he was hit across the head by Lump's pickaxe. He swerved off course, and rammed into a nearby wall. The whole wall collapsed on top of him. Dust rose into the air, and as soon as the dust cleared, I could see a new tunnel which had opened up. I stepped over the rubble which contained the Brown Beetle somewhere in its depths, and into the new tunnel. Lump followed me.

We walked deeper into the tunnel, almost forgetting about the Brown Beetle entirely. I looked over my shoulder nervously to make sure he wasn't there before the thought of him floated out of my head.

At the end of the tunnel, we found a massive cave. It was full of the most valuable rocks that could ever be imagined; gold rocks, silver rocks, adamant rocks and even rune rocks surrounded us. I stared, mouth agape, at the surroundings. Up ahead, there was a huge statue of a dwarf wearing armour.

"I've heard of this cavern from ancient dwarf legends," Lump said. "They said that this cavern contained a stash of the world's most valuable rocks. Apparently, Zamorak created this cavern."

"But why would he?" I pondered. Lump smiled.

"It was a place to hide his chaos dwarves," he replied. "When the time was right, legend says they'd be released. But since the god wars ended before they were released, they were entombed in here for eternity. But, because of this weirdo with drills for hands drilling his way through our mines, an opening must have been created to release them. Maybe that's why people have reported spotting them around the mines. I'd suppose, though, that they're all dead after thousands of years."

"That's where you're wrong, tubby," a sneering voice replied from behind us. I heard a crack, and Lump was lying at the feet of another dwarf, blood leaking from his head.

This dwarf was short, like all dwarves, but he wore small steel armour with the sign of Zamorak on the helmet. Red cloth covered the rest of him. He had ancient, wrinkled skin, and a small red beard.

"You killed Lump!" I gasped as I felt Lump's heartbeat and discovered there wasn't one. The chaos dwarf chuckled.

"I know I did," he replied in a croaky voice. "I am Scum, and I am the commander of the chaos dwarves. You'll be next to go, too. We hold no respect for humans like you, especially when you discover our secret caves." He let of a shrill whistle, and a small armada of chaos dwarves appeared from different hiding places. This included behind rocks, under piles of dust and stone, and there were even a good twenty or so hidden behind the giant chaos dwarf statue.

I ran back down the tunnel, and they followed me. I jumped over the pile of rubble that was the collapsed wall, and a drill flew from the ground as the Brown Beetle dragged himself out of the wreck.

"You're not escaping, kid," he hissed. "The Black Fly wants your head on a platter." I sighed.

"A lot of people want my head on a platter nowadays," I replied. "I've angered quite a few people, but I've gotten used to it now." I rushed off, and the Brown Beetle was about to chase me, but he was crushed by an army of angry chaos dwarves.

I flew down the mine like an arrow, the chaos dwarves still chasing me. I passed Osrie1 and Slinky, who were mining together. They ran after me curiously.

"What are we running from this time, pal?" Osrie1 asked conversationally as he caught up with me. "Is it a three-headed dragon? Is it an army of vampires? Or have you made Madrey1 angry again?"

"None of those," I panted. "It's a small army of chaos dwarves." Slinky groaned.

"It's always something with you, isn't it?" she said. "Silly Mainiac97. I'll never understand how you always seem to make everything evil want to kill you."

"Can I just ask why we're being so casual about it while our lives are at stake?" I shouted as we veered a corner and almost ran into Amy11. She looked like she was about to ask what was wrong, but she saw the crowd of chaos dwarves (led by Scum) and seemed to figure it out by herself. She followed us.

We finally arrived at the main exit of the dwarven mines, and we climbed the stairs desperately. We arrived in a large wooden hut at the top of the bank near Barbarian Village. We ran out the hut, earning ourselves a few odd looks from the dwarf workers.

The rain had cleared, but the clouds were still grey. We ran to the top of the bank, and we saw Falador in the distance. We skidded down the bank. As we turned around, we saw the dwarves at the top, shaking their fists at us. We noticed some dwarf attack cannons nearby, designed to fight off the goblins/barbarians that would attack. They did too.

They swarmed the large grey machines, and I saw what they intended to do. There was a fuse on the top of the cannon, and a tinderbox lying next to it. When the cannon was loaded and lit, it would explode, sending a boiling hot lump of metal flying towards the target. Quite neat when you're trying to attack a village, but not so great when you're the target. I shuddered as I heard a hissing sound behind me, followed by an explosion. A ball of red-hot steel flew right over our heads, and collided with the Falador wall. I had to snort at their bad aiming skills. There was another hiss, another explosion, and another hole in the Falador wall.

They launched one more cannon, but this one narrowly missed us. It collided with the ground nearby, sending dirt flying everywhere. A small troop of Falador guards marched past us, since it looked like the chaos dwarves were attacking Falador. After hesitating for a second, I decided to follow them to help around. I felt better protected with an army there.

"Why are you so scared of them?" Osrie1 asked. "The worst you'd get from a bunch of dwarves would be battered shins and broken kneecaps." I explained the legend Lump the dwarf had told me.

"They must be powerful if Zamorak was using them as warriors," I explained. My point was proven as the angry dwarves rushed forward to greet the guards and crushed several of them in the process. A chaos dwarf stayed behind to control the cannon, and blasted a cannonball into the crowd of guards. I didn't know how the other dwarves inside the wooden hut that housed the main entrance to the mines could ignore this.

I ducked as a dwarf flew over my head, bawling with rage. I ran towards the cannon and knocked the dwarf out. I pushed his body off the operating chair, and sat down on it myself. I picked up the tinderbox, and tried to light the fuse at the top, which seemed to regrow every time it was lit. I lit it after a few minutes (due to my low fire-making level). I turned the cannon to face Scum the dwarf, who was in the centre of the crowd of battling dwarves and guards. I figured that if he was injured, the chaos dwarves would give up.

It blasted, nearly sending me flying backwards. I watched with relief as the cannonball collided with Scum, crushing him. I loaded the cannon again, ready to strike; but to my surprise, Scum stood up, and chuckled softly, but evilly. He was only slightly injured! The fight stopped as everyone turned to stare at us.

"Zamorak didn't pick me to lead the chaos dwarves for nothing," he giggled menacingly. "My inner fury is unleashed only in situations when I am in great peril." I could sense an evil power radiating from his skin. He jumped towards me, and sent me flying to the floor with one tiny fist. I struggled to escape from his vice-like grip, but I couldn't. He grabbed me by the throat, giving me an evil smile.

"Your time on RuneScape ends now, tall man," he hissed. I struggled, but it was no use. I then noticed he was standing right in front of the fully loaded cannon. I just had to light it and I could save myself, but the tinderbox was beyond my reach. I had to think of some way of lighting it!

An idea hit me like a bolt of lighting. I focused an image of flickering flames in my head, and summoned my magical powers.

"Fire strike!" I yelled. A ball of flame flew towards the fuse, and the fuse started hissing. Scum turned his head a second too late. A look of anger and shock flitted across his face, and the cannon blew up before he could do anything about it. The cannonball blasted him back, and he let go of me. He stood up and turned to face me angrily, his nose broken and bruises covering his body. He ran after me, roaring with rage. I skidded down the bank and ran across the path and into the woods, terrified as the furious dwarf chased me.

I ran under the dark covers of the trees, gasping for breath. I heard a chuckle from behind me, and I ran in deeper. I felt something grab my neck.

"Help me!" I choked. Scum cackled. I struggled, and, in desperation, I sent a bind spell flying towards him. He was caught up in the green glowing ropes, and he fell back. The glow from the ropes illuminated the area slightly.

I knew the bind wasn't going to hold him forever. I fished for my hatchet in my bag, and ran towards a nearby tree. After ten or two chops, the tree went tumbling down on top of Scum. He rolled around, winded badly, coughing up blood.

I was relishing in his pain. I wanted him to suffer for what he'd done, so I sent a fire strike flying towards the tree. It set on fire, and I grinned as the flames towered high. I turned around as Scum howled with pain. He was being burned to death.

As I left the forest, guilt flooded my brain like a tap had been left to drizzle up there. Did I really need to stoop to his level to punish him? I could have dragged him back to the guards to be thrown in jail. But, no, I had to lose my temper and burn him to death. What made me better then him in that respect? My heart dropped like a rock as I realised how much of a hypocrite I was. Killing bad people made me as bad as them, if not worse.

I walked back to the cannons, feeling glum. There was no sign of any chaos dwarves there. Osrie1, Slinky and Amy11 stood in a group, Osrie1 ran up to me cheerfully.

"What happened to Scum?" he asked.

"I've dealt with him," I replied flatly. Osrie1 nodded, smiling warmly. "What happened to the chaos dwarves?" I questioned.

"They ran off and the Falador guards have chased them," Amy11 replied, running up to us.

I decided to return to the mines. For the rest of the afternoon, I returned to the mines, slaving over the rocks so I could finish off my chore list. My mining level rose to level 21 after I finished mining all of my copper, tin and iron, so I could then tackle the silver rocks. After another half an hour, I'd completed my whole order, and my mining level was 24. Grunting under the massive weight of all the ore in my bag, I trudged towards Doric's house.

He was sitting on his bed, reading a book about mining and smithing when I climbed up the ladder, dragging my heavy bag behind me. Doric looked at me over his book, and when he recognised me he grinned.

"Did you manage to complete the whole order?" he inquired. I nodded, and I emptied all the ore on the floor. After Doric sifted through it, counting the ores quickly, he smiled at me.

"Perfect!" he exclaimed. You got everything I asked for. Thanks a lot!" He handed me a scroll. The scroll read:

**Congratulations! You have completed Doric's quest.**

**You have earned:**

**1 quest point**

**2,000gp**

**Permission to use Doric's anvils, grain field and whetstone**

**Access to the Chaos Dwarf mining cave**

I grinned at my quest scroll, satisfied with my reward. I'd also be getting a further reward from Sir Amik Varze. My quest diary told me I had quite a few quest points; 25, to be precise. I'd earned this many from completing countless quests, chores, and events. I'd gotten quite a few quest points from completing 'demon slayer', which I presumed was defeating Delrith in Varrock. I needed 40 before I could enter the champion's guild, whatever that was.

I thanked Doric, and I went to Sir Amik Varze to claim my reward, which was a further 3, 000gp and another experience lamp which I planned to add to my massive collection in the bank. The rest of the gang had finished their lists and were accepting their rewards. Sir Amik Varze gave me a grateful pat on the back before I left.

"You've saved me a lot of work," he told me. "Thanks a lot for helping me, especially since I've got enough on my plate already." I still felt very low and guilty about killing Scum.

It was dark on my way out, and the full moon hung in the air. It was full, but my head was filled with even more worried thoughts, despite the stars twinkling merrily above me.

I bumped into Dream Decay in the streets of Falador.

"Hello friend!" he greeted cheerily. "You look a little depressed. Would you like to come to my house for a beer or two?" I nodded. He pulled a stone tablet with an inscription which looked like a house on it. "Touch the stone," he said. I obliged, and I was dragged into darkness. The unpleasant feeling of being compressed to death was definitely present.

We landed on soft, damp grass. I looked around, and I was in a very nice garden. The grass was freshly cut, flowers sprouted around me, and a sparkling fountain lay ahead. Dream stood up, dusted himself off, and gestured for me to follow him. In front of me there was a two-story house which was made from strong grey bricks. I walked through a pair of rather simple wooden doors.

I was in a nice living room. Several large, soft chairs surrounded a stone fireplace. There was a tinderbox and a small pile of logs lying next to the fireplace. A bookshelf stood nearby, along with a small table with a flowerpot full of roses. Dream lit the fire, which crackled merrily.

"This is a nice house you have here," I noted. He chuckled.

"This isn't my house really," he admitted. "It belongs to my girlfriend, but she bought me a teleport tablet too, so I have access to it." I whistled, and he blushed furiously.

"What's her name?" I teased.

"Emily," he replied sourly. At the mention of her name, he looked rather glum. "I'll go and get drinks," he said, walking through another door into a kitchen. I made myself at home, sitting on one of the plump chairs.

I liked Dream's house (or Emily's house), and I wished I had my own. I'd ask Dream about it as soon as he returned. Was it just me, or did the name 'Emily' ring a bell or two?

Dream returned with two glasses filled with beer, and he handed me one. I took a deep sip from it, and we began chatting.

I voiced my worries to him, and he nodded sympathetically. We talked a little bit about houses, and he told me I could get my own house from a shop in Falador.

After I finished my beer, I thanked him, and left. A swirling purple portal stood in front of me. I gulped, and I jumped head-first into it. I was dragged through darkness again. I appeared in Falador's streets.

I reflected on my busy day as I walked back to Capablanca's house. I was still wracked with guilt at the death of Scum, but I couldn't reflect too much on it, or I'd go insane. I wondered where Aaron had disappeared to. I wished he'd at least explain to us. If it was a busy schedule, it would save the worry. But he was being almost as mysterious as Ilookgood99. I stared up at the moon thoughtfully, and a howl echoed across the city, for the second time in a row. My life was truly a puzzle in itself, and I wished I could solve it.

* * *

_I hope that was to your liking. In your opinion, did Scum deserve to die? Tell me in a review!_

_A slight note about Bone-ripper at the start of this story; he's in Haseo the Terror of Death's 'The sphere of varrock', but technically I own him, since i created him. So I've decided to put him to use. dream Decay, emily and such are all part of the shared universe between me and Haseo (see a few chapterd back for details)._

_I apologise to the owner of the character Mark for sending him off, but it was neccecary so I could have more room for the other characters. he'll be back after a while, though._

_When I wrote this chapter, I meant no offence to dwarves in real life. I apologise beforehand if I offended anyone. _

_To anyone who's interested, I have another story in the making called 'History of a Tramp'. please check it out when you have a moment. Also, on the first chapter, I've added a prologue, which is an extract of the last few chapters of this story. I also apologise for the long AN, I have a lot of announcements to make. _

_Until next time, toodles!  
_


	72. Chapter 72: Home Sweet Home

_Hello, hello, hello, what's happenin' readers?_

_This is partially the long-awaited fight against the demon clan/noob exterminators. The noob exterminators won the poll, though, so mainiac will be fighting them._

_If anyone is interested, I've written a prologue in chapter one, just reminding you if you haven't read it._

_Enjoy!  
_

* * *

_**Chapter 72: Home Sweet Home**_

I woke up groggily. I stood up, stumbling around and slipping. I was being showered with water; where was I? I rubbed my eyes, trying to protect myself from the massive spray of crystal-clear liquid. My vision cleared, and I saw that I was lying down in the Falador fountain. I was earning myself odd looks from the passing people. My clothes were sopping wet. My armour was still in Capablanca's house, along with my belt.

I was confused for a second. It was still quite early in the morning. How did I end up waking up in the Falador fountain? I growled as only one word came to my head: Osrie1. I jumped out of the fountain, running through the streets like an enraged bull.

I smashed through Capablanca's door, bouncing up the steps two at a time. I burst through our bedroom door, and saw Osrie1 sitting on his bed, arranging his armour. He looked up innocently at me.

"What's wrong buddy?" he asked, on the verge of laughing. I bent my head to the side angrily, and water dribbled from my ear.

"Maybe it's something to do with the fact that I woke up this morning in the Falador fountain?" I replied sarcastically. Osrie1 put on a rather surprised face which masked a massive mischievous grin.

"Well, since my shouting and my poking wasn't stirring you, I only found it convenient to get some of our friends to pick you up and dump you in the fountain," he replied. I roared with rage, and jumped forward.

Suddenly, Osrie1 grabbed his pillow, and threw it into my face. I spluttered, spitting feathers out. I jumped forward, and tried to throttle Osrie1. He choked for a second, before jumping backwards and tripping over his own bed. He got up, dusting himself off, glaring at me and carrying on at the task of arranging his armour. I chuckled silently to myself. Our mock-fights always ended in him tripping over something.

I changed into dry clothes. I decided to organise my own weapons. Recently, while fighting, the massive weight on my belt had been a big problem. I took a look at myself in the mirror. I was wearing full steel, with my Easter cape on my back. I nodded at my reflection, and took my weapon belt off to organise it. I needed to cut down on which weapons I was most likely to use.

Altogether, I had my steel sword (the one I got for Christmas), Silverlight, my scythe, my emergency iron dagger, my Easter carrot hammer, my stone Barbarian hammer, and Pestilence's mace. I took the carrot hammer off reluctantly. It was a rather useful weapon, but it was too big and heavy to carry around constantly. I took off my scythe. That was also a useful weapon, but it wasn't as good as my other weapons, so I decided to keep it safe in my bank.

The Barbarian hammer and Silverlight were both weapons that were used regularly, so I decided to keep them. As for Pestilence's mace, it was really powerful. It was worth the weight.

I left the room, giving Osrie1 a playful punch on the shoulder as I passed him. I needed to get revenge at some point.

Recently, after visiting Dream Decay/his girlfriend's house, I'd gotten a liking to houses. I was tired of sleeping in Capablanca's house with a mischievous Osrie1 as my roommate. I didn't want to wake up in the fountain again another morning. So, today, I'd arranged to meet Dream Decay in the bank, and we'd go to the local 'RuneScape homes' store (where Dream Decay's girlfriend got her house) to arrange the buying of my own house.

To make money for my new house, I'd spent long days mining silver in the dwarf mines, turning them into bars, and selling them to the local blacksmiths. I'd only encountered the Brown Beetle once since the day we were introduced to the mines, and in his attempt to rip me apart, he buried himself in a landslide. I already had quite a bit of money, but it was always nice to have a bit extra, because you could never be sure when you'd need it.

I went to the nearby bank, and I saw Dream Decay standing outside, hands in pocket. It was a sunny day (for once), and the light reflected from his mithril armour. He grinned at me, waving a hand in the air. We walked inside.

"How much money do I have in my bank?" I asked. The lady behind the protective glass gave me a kind smile, and pressed a few buttons in front of her.

"You have 67, 565gp in total in your bank," she replied. Dream patted me on the back.

"At your level, that's quite an achievement," he noted. I thanked him for his compliment.

"I've been saving up for a while now," I told him. "How much do you think I'll need to buy a house?"

"If I were you, I'd brink at least 30, 000gp, because you don't know what you'll end up buying," he replied. I nodded, and that was what I withdrew. I put my Easter hammer and my scythe in the bank, on my holiday reward shelf, and we left the bank.

I'd grown to become good friends with Dream Decay. It was him that saved my life from the giant mole a month or so ago. I had quite a lot in common with him; we both enjoyed good fights, good weapons and meat sandwiches. But there was still a very uncomfortable, edgy feeling he dragged around with him constantly.

We walked towards the market, and Dream led me towards a shop. It read 'RuneScape homes' on the sign, and in the shop window, pictures of houses had been pasted up. We entered the shop.

A large, beefy man with a black moustache, wearing a tan cape with a picture of a saw on it stood behind the counter. Several comfortable chairs stood against one wall, while a desk covered with pamphlets stood on the other. The man smiled at us.

"Hello," he grinned. "I am the Falador estate agent, and if you want to buy a house, this is the place for you. Are you here to buy a house?" he asked. I nodded. "Very well, I have a lot of explaining to do then. Please bear with me until the end."

"Here, you have a choice of two types of houses; local houses and build-your-own houses. Build-your-own houses are a lot cheaper, but you get a lot less, and you have to build most of it yourself. Which one are you interested in buying?" he questioned.

"I'd like to buy a build-your-own house, please," I confirmed. He nodded.

"Very well," he said. "A build-your-own house will be nowhere near Falador. You'll be given a teleport tablet, and when you mutter a spell while touching that tablet, it'll teleport you there, along with any friends that happen to be touching it too.

"There are many packages you can buy, but since your construction level is only one at the moment, there is only one package you can buy, which is the beginner package. This package costs you 7, 000gp to buy. It includes a basic garden surrounded by a whitewashed fence, containing a teleport portal and a mailbox. It also includes a one-room house, containing a table, a chair, and a free large supply crate, courtesy of 'RuneScape homes'." I raised my eyebrow at the mention of 'supply crate', and he estate agent chuckled. "I guess I need to explain supply crates to you," he said.

"There are four types of supply crates you can get. There is the free sample, which is a small crate. You can't buy these normally; you get one of these every week in the mail for free. The second crate is the basic supply crate. It's a fairly large crate, about half your size, and it costs 5, 000gp to buy. The next type is the large crate, which costs 12, 000gp to buy. The last one is the extravagant crate, which is absolutely massive, and costs you 30, 000gp. You'll find the extravagant crate outside your house if you buy it, simply because it is so big." He seemed out of breath from all the talking.

"So, basically, the large supply crate is the one I get for free?" I enquired. He nodded.

"Yes. The crate itself can be taken apart and used as supply wood," he said. "If you spend an additional 1, 000gp in the price of your house, you'll get another large supply crate, so it'll cost you 8, 000gp in total. It's a bargain, considering what the large supply crate costs on its own."

"Is there anything else you believe I should know before I rush into any purchases?" I queried. He nodded.

"If you buy a local house, which is a house that can be found in Falador, it would cost you 56, 000gp, as well as weekly tax," he told me. "Well, it could be more or less, depending on the quality of the house, but that's the approximation. The benefits of that house are that it's all pre-prepared especially for you, so you won't have to worry about construction. Also, if you buy a build-your-own package, you'll get a beginner's pack in the mail."

I'd made up my mind. "I'll buy the beginner's package, please, with the additional 1, 000gp for the extra supply crate," I said. I scooped out some coins and handed them to him. His face split into a wide grin.

"Good choice," he remarked. "You'll have to wait for a few minutes while I set everything up." He disappeared into a back room. Dream and I settled into chairs.

A girl walked into the shop. She wore tight pink leather, and there was a pink backpack on her back. Her eyes were a velvety pink (she must have enchanted them to become that way), her hair was dyed shocking pink, her lips were pink, and almost everything about her was pink. It didn't look unnatural on her, though. It seemed to suit her well. She turned towards me, shooting me a cheeky grin. She was pretty, but I'd seen prettier.

"Hello," she purred. "Do you know where the estate agent is?"

"He's in the back room," I said indifferently. "He'll be back in a minute."

"That's OK," she said. "My nickname is the Pink Butterfly, by the way." She turned around, walking out of the shop.

I sat there, confused. Why had she even bothered to come in if she wasn't going to buy anything? The fact that she called herself the Pink Butterfly seemed suspicious within itself, considering who the leader of the Demon Clan called himself, since that type of nickname never meant anything good.

After a minute or so alone with Dream Decay and my thoughts, the estate agent reappeared, beaming. He was holding a stone tab with a picture of a house engraved on it. "It's all arranged," he told me. "Your house has been set up. This stone tab can teleport you to it. Just hold it, and wish for it to take you to your house strongly. You can only teleport inside certain cities, which should be listed in your beginner's pack. It's very simple. Enjoy, and thanks for purchasing a house with 'RuneScape homes'!" He handed me the tab proudly. I held onto it tight, and so did Dream. I wished myself to appear in my home, and I felt a mysterious force drag me away.

I felt like I was being forced through a thin pipe, which was the normal feeling of teleportation. I fell onto damp grass. I stood up, and dusted myself off. I heard a thump as Dream arrived.

My house was exactly the way the estate agent described it as. I was in a small garden surrounded by a whitewashed fence. Beyond that, there was wild grass stretching out into the horizon. In front of me, a rather small house which was the size of a room stood. It was made from bricks. Next to the door, a large stone mailbox stood.

I opened the mailbox up, and a big parcel stood there. I pulled it out, and ripped the paper off. A thick book and a note fell onto my lap, along with a small metal box. The note read:

_Thank you very much for buying a home with RuneScape homes! We hope you are pleased with the home you have purchased. _

_This is a beginner's pack. It contains an information books and a beginner's toolbox which are designed to help you build your house the way YOU want it. Don't worry over what everyone else wants; this is YOUR house. _

_The book is 'a beginner's guide to construction', designed to help you start off building. It goes through all the basics with you, including how to cut planks properly, how to brick-lay, and the basic know-how of building supplies. It also teaches about add-ons to home security, and information about prices, offers and supply packs. The book has a chapter devoted to what you can build specifically at which construction levels. It even teaches you how to make a cup of tea, because tea is important when it comes to building._

'_RuneScape homes' offer you a teleport system which will allow you to teleport to your house. But, this wonderful system comes with limits. It isn't cheap for us to set up a system of this sort, so you will have to pay for every time you teleport. Every week, an empty envelope will be sent to you along with a letter telling you how many times you've teleported and what the total will come to. You will need to put the money in. Leave it in your mailbox, and our postman will pick it up._

_Following is a list of towns where you can teleport to your house from:_

_Varrock_

_Falador_

_Lumbridge_

_Ardougne _

_Seer's Village_

_Karamja Village_

_Rellekka_

_Rimmington_

_You can't teleport in towns not listed, or in places that are nowhere near the towns listed. You can teleport from the outskirts of these towns, but the teleport will be a lot slower._

_Please enjoy your new home, and expect more newsletters and free supply samples in your mailbox as time passes._

I opened the toolbox, and inside I saw a large array of useful construction tools. They included a saw, a construction hammer, a hand-operated drill, a pair of scissors (for cutting cloth), a construction chisel, and a measuring ruler.

I put the tools back in the toolbox, and walked inside the house. As promised, a table, a chair, and two large wooden crates were inside the house. It was as austere as houses could get. The floors were tiled with wood, the walls were made from stone bricks, and the whole place seemed slightly boring.

I went towards the crates. A crowbar lay next to one of the crates. Due to the shape of the tool, I presumed it was used for opening the crates. I hooked the curled end of the crowbar around one of the planks that made up the crate, and pulled. The plank fell down. I peeped inside. A builder's paradise would be the best way to describe the mountains of metal bars, bricks, and nails that consisted of the inside of the crate. I added the crowbar to my toolbox. I placed the toolbox on the table, along with the book.

I heard several thumps from outside. I froze suddenly, listening intently. I heard a cackle.

"I'd guess that this house would belong to Mainiac97," a loud, obnoxious voice sniggered. "He's such a stupid noob."

"Where is he?" another voice said. This one sounded very cool and silky.

I was panicking. I could very easily guess that there intruders were the Noob Exterminators. How could I escape without running into them? How did they get inside my house?

I heard the door open, and Madrey1 walked in. He looked stronger then ever, and he wore an evil smirk on his face. Phantom and Rogue followed. Rogue looked as sexy as ever, with her leather skirt and her red lips. I tried to stop looking at her.

"How did you get in here?" Dream demanded.

"Well, the Pink Butterfly kindly directed us towards the estate agent's shop," Phantom explained. "Wow, she is a fine gal. It's a shame she is already a member of an evil group. Anyway, she directed us there, but you weren't there. After interrogating the estate agent for a while, he admitted you'd come to visit your new house."

"But how did you get in here?" Dream repeated angrily.

"I'll field that question," Madrey1 butted in. "There is a very simple answer. The estate agent is a pushover. All I had to do was kick him around a bit and he caved in and teleported us to your house."

"I don't appreciate intruders," I growled angrily. I felt myself getting very ticked off at these ignorant people who always had the urge to bully me. "Leave now." Madrey1 howled with laughter.

"Why don't you make us, noob?" he taunted. I unsheathed Silverlight, getting ready for the fight of a lifetime. Madrey1 pulled his dragon sword from his belt, while Rogue held her yew bow firmly. Dream pulled out his bronze scimitar, glaring at Madrey1.

The fight didn't start off very well. Madrey1 picked me up by the scruff of the neck, and threw me outside. I stood up, groaning, but he picked me up again and slammed me into the floor again. He repeated this process, and I crawled away, coughing up blood. I saw Dream fly overhead, crashing into the grass, spraying dirt everywhere. I stood up, and swung Silverlight towards Madrey1. It clanked against his Guthan's armour noisily. He swung a fist towards me. I ducked, and it missed.

Phantom sent a dark curse towards me, and it hit. I found myself floating in the air, screaming with pain. It felt like I was being pierced with a thousand knives. The curse wore off after a minute, and I fell on the floor in a heap. I stood up, running towards Madrey1 with as much energy as I could muster. I grabbed Pestilence's mace, and swung it towards Madrey1's face. He grabbed it gingerly with his hands, and swung it back towards me. It hit me full-pelt in the head. I collapsed, moaning. Dream was struggling nearby against Rogue, dodging showers of arrows.

My entire body was aching. I was covered with cuts and bruises, and I had a black eye. I spat blood onto the grass.

Madrey1 approached me, cracking his knuckles. I flipped through my brain for ideas, panicking. If I could distract Madrey1, even for a moment, I could probably do some harm to him. I thought about how I'd beaten him before, and I realised it was purely luck and quick thinking. I could use emotes to my advantage, but I had a better idea.

I jumped up, using what remaining energy I had left, and I grabbed Madrey1's helmet. I yanked it off, and Madrey1 roared.

"Give that back!" he spat, swiping towards me. He hit me in the side of the face, and I let go of the helmet by accident. It flew into the swirling purple portal which led back to wherever the person that entered came from. Madrey1 swore loudly.

While he was distracted, I climbed onto his back and poked him in the eyes. He bellowed, and sent me flying off. Dream bounced towards him and started striking him with his bronze scimitar.

Rogue pranced towards me, grinning seductively.

"Hello," she whispered. I raised my eyebrow at her. She was trying to seduce me so she could make a hole in my defences to attack, but I wasn't falling for it. I grabbed Silverlight and struck her hard on the shoulder with it. Leather was very effective when trying to defend against arrows, but not so effective when combating swords. She fell back, screeching with pain, dragging me down with her.

I was trying to get back up so I could attack her again, but she was forcing me against her. I felt uncomfortable, because I was being forced to look at her beautifully pale face and rosy-red lips. It felt both awkward and appealing at the same time, being crushed against her. She winked at me.

"You're not going anywhere," she giggled. I felt a terrible pain in my gut, and I saw that she'd sneakily sunk an arrow deep into it. I groaned, and collapsed, weak. She grinned triumphantly as she leant forward to kiss me and use her drugged lipstick to make me fall asleep. I leant forward too, but not to kiss her. I gave her a violent head-butt. She screamed once, and pushed me off her. I gave her a mocking simper before sending Pestilence's mace crashing down on her face.

"I don't give mercy like that, even to the pretty ones," I informed the comatose form of Rogue.

I grabbed her limp figure by the feet and swung it around as hard as I could. Victory was energising me almost as much as coffee beans, despite the fact that she was heavier then she looked. I sent her unconscious body flying into Phantom, who was too intent on trying to murder Dream to pay attention to me. He gasped suddenly, and he was knocked out.

Madrey1 swore. "You stupid noob!" he cried. "You'll suffer greatly for this!" He grabbed me by the neck, and he began applying pressure to it. I choked, struggling desperately. Dream tried to rescue me, but he was knocked away like a doll.

As a final resort, I summoned a confuse spell, and sent it towards Madrey1. It hit him, and he stumbled around, letting go of me. I sent a fire strike flying towards him. It hit his armour, but it still caused him pain, judging by the shriek he let off. I snorted.

"Madrey1," I said. "You may be a bulging lump of muscle, but you really don't know that much about the combat triangle. Magic is very effective against combat." At that, Dream and I sent a large array of spells at him. He was burned, confused and splashed into oblivion. Injured, he ran towards me. I side-stepped and he flew into the purple portal.

After much effort, we pushed Phantom and Rogue into the portal too. I smiled, satisfied. Dream huffed. He looked exhausted.

"Well, if there's one thing the Noob Exterminators have learnt today, it's that intrusion doesn't pay off," Dream chortled. I nodded. I stared behind me. Blood pooled around my garden, and I was amazed that the house had survived the fight. There were a few chunks missing from the brick, though. Arrows were scattered everywhere. I gathered them and pocketed them. Maybe I could sell them to the general store a bit later. We stepped into the purple portal.

We landed in the estate agent's shop. It was full of white knights. Madrey1 was being restrained by at least five white knights while he struggled hopelessly. The unconscious forms of Phantom and Rogue had been tied up nearby. I spotted Jamie, and I stepped up to him.

"Hello," he greeted us. He looked sombre. I was about to ask him why, but I saw why for myself.

The estate agent lay nearby. His chest had been split open, and the contents of his chest had been spread out nearby. White knights surrounded him, examining him.

"We received a report from the estate agent that a bunch of thugs had bullied information out of him," Jamie whispered. "We all came here to investigate, but this is what we were greeted with. We started studying the body, and this oaf appeared among us."

"So it obviously wasn't him," I added, nodding towards Madrey1, who was growling at me like a rabid dog, screaming profanities at a high speed.

"No," Jamie confirmed. "Besides, the Noob Exterminators wouldn't murder people this ferociously."

"Do you know who did it?" I asked, shivering with shock.

"Not specifically," Jamie responded. "But we're assuming it was the work of the mysterious Falador murderer. Don't leak this, please. Sir Amik Varze would rather people not know."

My blood froze. Giving Madrey1 a final nervous glance, I left the shop, Dream following.

I was shaken by the events of today. Why did a disaster have to happen at every turn of my life? Could I even buy a new house without being attacked the moment I stepped in it? The Noob Exterminators hated me more then any other low-level in the whole of RuneScape. Why was this?

The murders were getting out of hand now. About twelve-fifteen people were dead because of him/her. The murderer really needed to get caught, or King David would do something drastic to stop him/her. I wasn't even sure if King David could be trusted nowadays. Everyone you met in the street was frightened. Nobody could be trusted in these tough times.

Why were so many people that named themselves after insects appearing? The Black Fly was bad enough on his own, but now I'd met the Brown Beetle and the Pink Butterfly. Would the mystery ever stop? My head felt uncomfortably bloated. It didn't help that I was badly injured from my brawl with the Noob Exterminators. I always had a cut, bruise or burn from someplace or other.

On the other hand, I was pleased with my new house. I had very big plans for it, but before I could carry them out I'd need to gather more supplies. Although the two supply crates in my house had a lot of supplies, I doubted they'd be enough to build a whole room. I was going to have a busy few months.

* * *

_This was my take on the construction skill and POH's in general. I'm open to suggestions on what Mainiac should do with his. By the way, Pink Butterfly has got a cool weapon, but I'm not revealing it yet.__Just a reminder that Dream Decay is owned by Haseo the Terror of Death, who I'm having a shared universe with.  
_

_This should be something you will all enjoy; a new competition! This one is a character competition, but with a twist! As you may have already guessed, the Brown Beetle and the Pink Butterfly all have something to do with the Black Fly. What I want you to do is design a new character similar to those three! This time, anyone can take part, but there will only be one winner. I'll give some runner-ups who will earn themselves a spoiler or two, but the winner will see their character in the next chapter! _

_Here are some other things you need to know about this competiton. The name of the character must be a colour, and an insect name (like Black Fly). This person must be wearing leather, but with a colour of your choice! You can include details like weapon choice (for example, Black Fly's electric sword and Brown beetle's drills). Other details that will earn you extra marks include history, personality, description, and originality. Please take part, even if it's a small entry._

_THE COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED, PLEASE DO NOT ENTER. Thanks to those that took part!  
_

_Until next time, toodles!  
_


	73. Chapter 73: ScapeRune

_Hello, hello, hello, what's happenin' readers? :D_

_Well, you've been waiting a while for it, and it's here finally. I'm obviously talking about the results of the competition! here they are:_

_3rd place: Ninjamouse1_

_2nd place: Onionmaster_

_Winner: Haseo the Terror of Death_

_Well done to the winners! Everyone was good, but these entries stood out and won. Haseo's entry (the silver wasp) will be featured as a character. I really enjoyed this competition, and I may hold a similar one in future._

_Anywayz, to make up for the delay and everything, this chapter is extra long. read the bottom for some more author notes. please enjoy!  
_

* * *

_**Chapter 73: ScapeRune**_

The next few weeks were mainly focused on gathering supplies for my new house. I wasn't interested in building the house quite yet; I wanted to gather the necessary supplies first.

I spent a lot of time in the dwarf mines, mining tin, copper, iron, and coal (for bronze, iron and steel bars). My mining level had risen high enough for me to mine coal, and my smithing level had risen high enough for me to smelt steel. I used some of these bars for making nails, and I kept the rest for use on their own.

I moved into my house straight after buying it. I thanked Capablanca for his hospitality, gathered my clothes, and left. I made myself a basic bed, a crude wardrobe, and a temporary oven so I could live in my house. I also made a little pet box for Eek to live in. All of the supplies necessary to build the furniture were from the crates that came with the house. My bed was nowhere near as comfortable as some of the beds I slept in previously, but it was comfortable enough.

I got my planks from Doric. I'd fetch him a bag full of logs and silver ore, and, in exchange for the ore, he'd turn all of my logs into planks. The planks were coarse, but they were good enough for me. Doric told me when I reached a specific level in construction, I could make my own planks, but they wouldn't be very good at first. Planks were professionally made in sawmills, but the closest sawmill was in Varrock, sadly.

I'd also discovered how to make bricks. There were two types of bricks that could be made. You could make building bricks (which were designed for building houses) and limestone bricks (which were used more for decorative purposes).

Building bricks made in RuneScape required limestone rocks, clay, iron, water, and a chisel. You needed to gather the ingredients. I never noticed before, but furnaces supplied brick moulds. You filled a mould with a mixture of the ingredients, and left it in the furnace for ten minutes at the least. When you pulled it out, the limestone should have melded with the iron and the clay. The water would need to be spilled on the brick to help cool it down. Once it's cool, it would need to be taken from the mould with gloves (I wore my safety gloves) and chiselled to smooth the rough edges. The brick would be ready.

A decorative limestone brick would be a plain lump of limestone chiselled into brick form and polished. It could then be used for building fireplaces, statues, and etcetera. I'd learnt all of this from the useful book that came in the beginner's pack. In the chaos dwarf cave in the dwarf mines, a massive stash of limestone rocks hid behind the statue. It was very useful in my construction supply gathering.

I wasn't the only one busy recently. Capablanca was very busy with his job as a white knight, as usual. Osrie1 had bought his own house recently, taking inspiration from me, but he was too lazy to gather supplies. Instead he used his spare time doing odd chores for Sir Amik Varze. Dream Decay did a big mixture of things, half of which I didn't even know. He helped me in my supply-gathering mainly. As for Aaron, he was nowhere in sight most of the time.

Amy11 was doing a lot of cooking of late, so there was always a hot meal ready in Capablanca's house when we all came home from different chores. Her cooking was delicious, and even though I didn't live there any more, I still had dinner there.

The busiest out of us, however, was Sir Amik Varze. He would naturally be busy, being the leader of the white knights, but recently he'd been abnormally busy. This was due to the crime rate increasing, trying to keep the goblins of goblin village in check, and trying to run a city. The criminals on the loose didn't help much either. The Falador mystery murderer had claimed another two lives since the day I'd bought my house.

The goblins were getting increasingly restless, constantly trying to attack the nearby village of Taverley. At one point, the crowds of angry goblins got so much I had to use a charge from my shell of peace (one of the rewards from the Stronghold of Security) to calm them. I'd used it before then, so there was only one charge left. I planned to use it wisely.

One day, I was walking through the bustling city of Falador. I'd just dropped off an inventory full of iron bars and bricks at my house, and I was on my way to the nearby forest with Dream to get some logs to be turned into planks. My bag was already half-filled with silver to pay Doric with.

Dream had become a good friend of mine. He was very kind and helpful, and knew a lot about practically everything, from fighting to fishing, construction to woodcutting. I'd offered to pay him for his help gathering supplies, but he declined the money, saying that it was a way to pass his time and help him train skills. Osrie1 and Amy11 helped out occasionally too.

We walked into the glorious Falador square. I stared proudly up at the statue (the head had been replaced after my encounter with James, the MCM, and my clone). It represented everything that made people proud to live in Falador. The sky was cloudy, but it wasn't stormy, thankfully.

On our way past the statue, we bumped into Amy11.

"Hello," she greeted cheerfully.

"Hi," I replied happily. "Where were you headed?"

"I was headed to the castle to…" she began, but she was interrupted by a javelin flying right over her shoulder and impaling the floor. I picked it up curiously. The javelin was silver and blue, with a sinister-looking liquid dripping from the end.

"I'll take that back, thank you very much," a female voice hissed. Someone yanked the javelin from my grip violently. I spun around to face this person.

A most beautiful female stood there, grinning at me. It didn't seem very sweet though; there was a manic undertone to the grin. Her skin was pale, and I felt the gaze of her silvery-blue eyes focusing on me. Her lips were covered with a shiny silver lipstick. She wore matching silver leather clothes. The most surprising thing about her, however, was the massive insect wings that protruded from her back.

"How on earth did you get those wings?" I gasped. She frowned at me.

"For your information, an old mage gave them to me," she snapped. "But that is none of your concern. I've been sent here by the Black Fly to assassinate you. I am the Silver Wasp."

Before I could say anything else, she flung her javelin towards me. I yelped, and ducked. She sniggered. With a flick of her wrist, the javelin hovered slowly and flew back into her hand. She twisted it around, and wielded it like a sword. Yelling out what sounded like a battle-cry, she ran towards me. I unsheathed Silverlight urgently and hit her with it. The clank of our weapons resounded around the square. Dream sent a fire blast soaring towards her. With a wave of her hand she swept it away. She continued assaulting me brutally, searching for holes in my defence. I screeched in pain as she sent her javelin flying into my shoulder violently. I pulled the javelin out before the poison could have any effect on me.

We continued fighting for a while. I could see Irish (the owner of the steel store) running towards us from his shop. His steel armour rattled noisily. He saw the Silver Wasp trying to impale me.

"What's going on here?" he demanded.

"I'm being attacked!" I shouted. He pulled out a long steel blade, and went into a fighting stance. Suddenly, smoke filled the area. I heard a hiss, and I was dragged upwards into the thick black gas.

I flew through the smoke for a minute, screaming to be put down. Sooner or later, I landed on a filthy tiled floor with a thump. I stood up, and dusted myself off, spitting grime and blood from my mouth. I looked at my surroundings.

I was in a room that looked eerily like the Falador party room, except there was no top floor (it was all one room). The tiles were the same pattern, except they were filthy and covered with dry crusty blood. There was a dilapidated, cobwebbed fireplace on the far end, but there was no lever, table, chairs, balloons, or chest. There were no doors. There were two tiny barred windows high up on the wall.

Amy11, Irish, and Dream Decay stood nearby, examining the disgusting room. The Silver Wasp was glaring at me.

"I didn't mean to take you here," a voice purred. "You can go back." With a puff of smoke, the Silver Wasp was gone. I was partially relieved to see the back of her, but I still felt apprehensive. Where was I? I looked around, searching for the person that spoke, but I didn't see anyone. "I'm down here, stupid," the same voice hissed. I looked down, and was extremely startled at our kidnapper.

It was a cat, of all things. The cat had pitch-black fur, and red eyes. The fur around one of the eyes was a grubby grey. The cat wore a strange amulet.

"You must be so confused," the talking cat wheezed. "I am Evil Bob." I remembered the name a jolt from something the Lumbridge guide told me ages ago.

"This is a random event, isn't it?" I asked. Evil Bob cackled.

"In normal circumstances, it would be," the cat rasped. "You'd go through a relatively easy puzzle involving a portal and a key. But, the laws of darkness have changed recently. There's been a massive transformation in the atmosphere. We animals can sense it. Something is commanding me to trap you here for eternity and let you rot, and, being an evil cat, I must listen. I'm not the only random event that's changing. Strange plants are losing their wills, Dr Jekyll has transformed into Mr Hyde permanently, and even the evil chicken is disobeying the rules of random events."

"I don't understand. Could you elaborate? What have we done to deserve this?" Irish bellowed. Evil Bob tipped his head to one side innocently.

"You haven't done anything," Evil Bob admitted. "But I'm an overpowered evil cat. When a suspicious voice in the sky tells me to take you (an innocent bunch of kids) here, am I to oblige? Well, of course. I may forget about you and you'll probably rot here. However, I may leave you here for an hour and teleport a bear or an angry troll here to deal with you. That's how I got rid of good old Pete." He gestured towards a dusty corner with his head, where a bloodstained skeleton lay. "Do you have any questions?"

I opened my mouth to ask the talking cat many questions, including 'how the hell can a cat like you talk?', 'where specifically are we?', and even 'is there any chance of going back?' Instead, no sound came from my mouth.

"I presume that's it," Evil Bob sneered. "I'll be seeing you. Or not." At that, he disappeared in a massive cloud of smoke.

I swore loudly, and kicked the wall in frustration. That only caused me to be more frustrated. How could an innocent, stupid little cat be so frustratingly evil? What sick, twisted place would house a monstrosity like him? "Where the hell are we?" I screamed raucously.

"I think I can answer that, friend," another person replied from the shadows in a corner. My eyes widened as Ilookgood99 stepped from the shadows. What was he doing here? I was about to bombard him with questions, but he put his hand up.

"I'd like to answer all your questions now," he said. "But now is neither the time nor the place. There are a few questions I can answer though. You asked where we are." I nodded eagerly. "We are in ScapeRune, a completely opposite dimension to RuneScape. For every dimension that exists, there must be an opposing dimension to keep the balance. This is used as a setting for random events, but when bad things started happening, all random events changed. Everything that is in RuneScape has an opposite here. Look around you. Doesn't everything look eerily like the Falador party room? Well, it's a prison room in this dimension."

"Why are you here?" I asked.

"I'm not here out of my own will," he answered. "I was teleported here by Evil Bob. His reason was 'the evil voice in the sky told me to.'"

"Why don't you use your teleporting ability to go back to RuneScape?" I queried suspiciously. Ilookgood99 sighed.

"Evil Bob may be a cat, but he is a very intelligent cat," Ilookgood99 replied sombrely. "He has the means of blocking any teleport in or out of this dimension, minus his own teleportation." I groaned.

"Is it possible for us to escape from this blasted room?" Irish shouted, punching the wall. A sprinkling of dust fell from the ceiling.

"Yes, and if you don't calm down we'll never be able to escape," Ilookgood99 told him bluntly. "We'll have to weaken the wall so we can knock it down. Evil Bob will have a portal back to RuneScape wherever he is, so we'll need to find him. I know my dimensions pretty well, so I think I know where Evil Bob might be. It'll take a while, but we'll have to if we're to ever escape."

We were ordered to fire water spells at a particular part of the wall in front of us, and we obliged. The wall was thrashed repeatedly by the volley of water spells. I could see it weakening under the pressure of the water.

Ilookgood99 stepped forward. He closed his eyes, and put his hand in front of him. He shouted a series of unfamiliar spells to thin air, and a gigantic jet of water came from his palm. He opened his eyes, and they were a fiery blue. The jet seemed to intensify in pressure. The wall let off a cracking noise, and collapsed entirely, sending a cloud of dust off. I coughed, and waved the dust away. When the dust cleared, a portion of the wall had collapsed, revealing an opening large enough for us to squeeze through. My mouth fell open.

"That is called the spell of elemental control," Ilookgood99 informed us. "It drains you of magical energy temporarily, but it gives you a limited control over the elements. It is truly amazing, and only those who are very experienced can use it." Ilookgood99 made a gesture, and we followed him. We stepped over the pile of damp rubble and into ScapeRune.

The opposite dimension of RuneScape was disgusting. Instead of shiny marble bricks, everything was made from filthy dark bricks. The sky was a muddy brown mixed with black, and thunderclouds constantly swirled around ominously. The air was filthy and polluted. We passed what were the gardens of Falador in RuneScape, and instead a massive pile of mud stood.

I retched. This place was disgusting; it was the total opposite of Falador. Everything was dirty and black, and all happiness had been sapped from the air. Why had Saradomin allowed this place to exist? It was a monstrosity to everything Falador stood for. I was disgusted. Ilookgood99 gave me a sympathetic pat on the back.

I gave Ilookgood99 a quick glare while his back was turned. He pranced around in his priest robes, with his cleanly shaven head and merry twinkling eyes, acting all powerful and secretive. It made me slightly sick how he kept everything to himself. He was mentally torturing me with riddles and hints that made no sense whatsoever. Yet, at the same time, I felt respect for him. He was always willing to save my life, and he seemed to care for me strongly. I only wish he'd spit out what he's been trying to tell me.

We arrived at the place where the white knight castle was meant to be, only to find it gone. Instead, an absolutely massive tower stood, casting a very long shadow. It was made from grimy concrete bricks, and let off an eerie aura. There was a moat, but the water was mucky and smelt horrific.

"That must be where Evil Bob is," Ilookgood99 noted. "Wherever Evil Bob is, a way back to RuneScape follows." I didn't know how he knew that, but I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt as I followed him onto the bridge that led to the tower. A wooden door was the entrance to the tower. We stepped inside cautiously.

The first thing we were faced with was a massive green creature. It was a blob of green slime, constantly pulsating with odd limbs growing and disappearing from it.

"What is that?" Amy11 gasped quietly, turning green.

"It looks disgusting," Irish commented as if he was commenting on the weather. Dream looked lost for words.

"It's a creation of Evil Bob," Ilookgood99 muttered darkly. "Whenever it approaches you, it senses your phobia, and transforms into what you're scared of."

"How do you defeat it?" I questioned.

"I don't know," Ilookgood99 sighed, looking disappointed. "We'll just have to try and fight it."

The green blob approached Dream Decay, who gritted his fists confidently. The green blob froze for a second, before shaping into a human-like figure. The green tentacles of slime disappeared into the body or transformed into limbs while a head sprouted from the top. After the shaping process was finished, a zombie stood there. It had pale skin, greasy lank hair, and a rotting look to it. It was skinny. It moaned eerily and I shuddered as I smelt its putrid breath. It seemed very realistic, and I could see Dream's eyes widen. Dream backed off, unwilling to fight.

Maybe Dream was scared of zombies, but I wasn't (to an extent). I charged forward, and I swung Pestilence's mace towards the zombie-lookalike. It was hit, and it stumbled back, groaning. It suddenly began transforming again. As two horns spurted from the creature's head and a long tail with a spike on the end grew from its rear end, I realised it was turning into a demon, which was my worst fear after the events of the Varrock wars. While it was transforming, I ran, gesturing for the others to follow me. We ran past the transforming green lump, and we shut the door behind us.

Darkness seemed to fill the surrounding space, and odd noises could be heard echoing from seemingly nowhere. A damp, dusty smell hit our nostrils. I couldn't see a thing. Suddenly, the area was illuminated. I looked around to see Ilookgood99 holding a ball of pure light. He must have cast some sort of prayer or spell. I looked up, and the light from Ilookgood99's orb showed dark spiral stairs twisting all the way to the top of the tower. We were standing in a clear space.

"Should we climb up them?" Amy11 asked apprehensively. Her voice was a bit strained.

"If we're ever to get back to RuneScape, we'll have to," Ilookgood99 said, sounding a little worried. Something started hammering on the door behind us, and we ran up the stairs.

Before we'd even reached halfway up the long spiral stairs, we were out of breath. I could hear something following us far below. We'd passed many doors so far, and whatever was going on behind them was beyond me. Passing one, a loud screeching noise could be heard. Passing another one we could smell a rotten stench.

Sooner or later, we arrived at the top. The green shape-shifting creature was still far below. We were in another open space. In front of us, there was a final door. After hesitating for a final second, Ilookgood99 stepped forward, grasped the doorknob, and opened the door.

The room inside was a large room. In front of us, there was a golden throne with a red velvet pillow on it. Sitting on it was none other then evil Bob. There were two green shape-shifting creatures standing/sitting by the throne. Nearby, a black portal with a cracked stone frame stood. Evil Bob hissed at us.

"You escaped!" he spat. He turned to Ilookgood99. "You helped them! I thought you would. The voice in the sky told me to be wary of you. Well, you've gotten this far by luck. Luck won't be kind to you any more if I have my way!"

"I assume that portal leads back to RuneScape. Am I right?" Ilookgood99 interrogated.

"Correct," Evil Bob confirmed. "However, if you believe you'll be using it today, you are sadly mistaken." He let off some sort of whistling noise, and the two green shape-shifting creatures approached us. Evil Bob guffawed loudly. "Do you like the way I designed these creatures?" he taunted. Ilookgood99 looked like he was seething. "I gave fear a solid form. Literally, these green blobs are blobs of fear, since they can transform into what you are scared of. If you are truly scared of what the creature turns into, then you'll be unable to attack it. It's a natural instinct of fight-or-flight but with flight winning the battle. Anyway, I've had enough bragging. Get him!"

The two blobs of fear approached Ilookgood99. Ilookgood99 didn't move a muscle; as a matter of fact, he was smiling. Evil Bob looked bewildered. The creatures began transforming, and I watched curiously. Normally, I'd try and help Ilookgood99, but he looked like he had things under perfect control. He had a very serene look on his face.

All of a sudden, there was a massive screeching sound, and red light exploded from the blobs of fear. The red light was so blindingly bright I was forced to screw my eyes shut. Even with my eyes shut, I could still feel the sheer power of the red light. The screeching sound increased in pitch and I had to cover my ears too. Sooner or later, I heard an explosion, and the red light disappeared. I opened my eyes, and, instead of two blobs of fear, I saw two piles of ash.

My eyes widened in shock. What had happened to the two blob creatures? I turned to Ilookgood99, a questioning look on my face. His face was split in a wide grin, while Evil Bob's mouth had fallen open.

"How is that possible?" Evil Bob choked. "Your fear must be so powerful that not even my creatures can match its majesty without vaporising. How can you know of such a thing? Who are you?"

"I am only going to say this once," Ilookgood99 whispered. "I have seen many terrible things, and you'd be surprised what I know about. I have powers that nobody knows about, and should never know about." He turned around, giving me a look. "I am Ilookgood99, and I want to leave ScapeRune NOW. You WILL leave us go, or else." Ilookgood99 cracked his knuckles threateningly.

Evil Bob squealed, and jumped from his throne. He turned around and narrowed his eyes at us.

"I will get you four alone," he warned, referring to Irish, Dream, Amy11 and I. "When you're alone, I will return from the shadows. I will strike again. This is not the last you'll see of me." With a puff of smoke, Evil Bob was gone. I turned to the portal. Ilookgood99 smiled at us kindly, and made a gesture that told us to enter the portal.

"Thank you," I said to Ilookgood99. "Thank you very much for saving us. If it weren't for you, we'd still be in the prison, looking for a way out, or even fighting a bear that Evil Bob sent us. If it weren't for you, we'd be destined to die here, killed by an overgrown cat with magical powers. You've saved us many times, and we all owe you our lives. You're still very mysterious, and you refuse to answer my questions, but I understand now that you can't. I'll probably never understand you fully."

"I can't personally answer your questions. I wish I could, but I can't," Ilookgood99 smiled. "But try and figure it out yourself. Pick up the hints. Gather all of the information you can gather, because if you can figure one particular thing out, I will be able to tell you the rest."

I was about to reply, but Irish tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around, only to see a terrified expression on his face.

"I don't mean to alarm you," he stuttered. "But there's something on your back!"

The very familiar sensation hit me like a gust of wind. The weight on my back was more conspicuous. The hissing and clicking was louder and more prominent, and I could feel the movement of the strange object. All of a sudden, it stopped.

Ilookgood99 gave me a frown. All of a sudden, his eyes misted over. "It's happened again," he whispered. "This time, it was clearer then ever. I think something's going to happen soon. Watch out, Mainiac97. A very bad thing is going to happen to you, sooner then you think. I can't tell what it is. There is a traitor among you, a traitor which will cause this disaster. A storm is coming, Mainiac97, and you aren't fully prepared for it. But I do see a dazzling end, a light in the midst of the darkness."

I was feeling very disturbed at Ilookgodd99's prophecy. I didn't want to know any more about this disaster, so I turned around and ran head-first into the portal behind me. Irish, Amy11 and Dream hesitantly followed me. I felt myself being teleported away.

We re-appeared in Falador square. We'd spent two hours in ScapeRune, at the very least, and it was now late afternoon. It was still very cloudy. Irish patted me on the back, and returned to his shop, while Dream teleported to his girlfriend's house. Amy11 walked off, pecking me on the cheek as she passed me, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

I decided to mine one more bagful of ore before calling it a day. As I walked, I thought about Ilookgood99. He was a walking, talking riddle. I was still trying to decode what he said. The return of the mysterious object on my back frightened me too. It never meant anything good. Every time I saw it, something bad had happened afterwards. It was scary. How did Ilookgood99 know so much about ScapeRune and Evil Bob? Why did he know so much about me and my past? Why couldn't he answer my questions? What was he scared of that was so terrible?

I wasn't very happy I'd made a new enemy either. It still felt weird having an evil cat as an enemy. Everything evil I meet seemed to want to kill me. At the moment, I had a noob-hating clan, a gang on motorbikes, a crowd of vampires, an evil mastermind and his cronies, a bloodthirsty leprechaun, a powerful cat, and much more after me.

It seemed people that named themselves after insects seemed to hate me too. First I faced the Black Fly, then the Brown Beetle, then the Pink Butterfly, and now the Silver Wasp. Who were they? I wished my life wasn't full of so many difficult questions.

Sighing, I looked up to see I'd arrived at the mines. As I entered, sniffing the familiar smell of rust and dirt, I wondered when this predicted storm would arrive. I had a gut feeling it was going to arrive soon.

* * *

_I hope you liked that, and I hope everyone is pleased with the results of the competition! So many questions; what is this disaster that Ilookgood99 speaks of? When will it happen? is Ilookgood99 even trustworthy? Keep on reading to find out!_

_A little question for all of my readers; If you encountered one of these creatures, what would it turn into? Tell me in a review! Also, I don't take credit for the original idea of Evil Bob's fear creatures. they were insprised by the Boggarts from harry potter._

_I've had a few people ask me about Dungeoneering and whether I would use it in my story. Rest assured, I have big plans with Dungeoneering and Daemonheim, so look foward to them._

_This is it, I'm finally announcing it. The 'To Falador and beyond!' arc is finished, and the LAST arc in 'the adventure through runescape' is beginning. This arc is entitled 'the final fight', and it is what it is; the final fight. It will be 10-20 chapters long, and will end the story with a bang. Don't worry, I will write a sequel after this story is done. This is just a heads-up, you've got a while before you have to worry about it. More info on the sequel and stuff will be coming._

_Next chapter: The Falador murderer is finally unveiled!  
_

_Sorry for the long ANs. Until next time, toodles!  
_


	74. Chapter 74: Deadly Discoveries

_Yo, DJ Mainiac in da house!_

_I apologise for the late update. I've been very busy recently. I'll be writing a lot more when things settle down for the summer. Have patience; a few people have been bugging me for this chapter. It's up when it's up.  
_

_Anyway, enjoy!  
_

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_**Chapter 74: Deadly Discoveries**_

I walked through the streets of Falador quickly, feeling apprehensive. I stared up into the cloudy sky, worried thoughts running through my mind like a stream.

Aaron had returned, but for how long? He always seemed edgy, and refused to talk to anyone about his disappearance. He seemed to be going insane. He spent most of his time pacing around Capablanca's house, muttering to himself and shooting everyone odd looks. I was very concerned for him. I wanted to help, but how could I if he wouldn't let me help?

Life wasn't going too well for me at the moment. Ever since the occurrences in ScapeRune, Ilookgood99's prophecy constantly plagued me. I was on full alert wherever I went. There had been several new murders recently, and now over thirty people were dead because of the mystery Falador murderer. It was easy to recognise a Falador murderer murder. The body was, in most cases, torn apart, with body parts spread out nearby.

Also, recently, the Noob Exterminators had been put on trial in front of Sir Armik Varze and several other white knight commanders. But, with the assistance of a smoke spell by Phantom, they managed to escape. I was fuming; I seriously wanted the pieces of scum that were called the Noob Exterminators to rot in prison for what they'd done.

As I was walking along, I saw Jamie running towards me frantically. Someone running towards me never meant anything good. Jamie stopped, panting.

"Sir Amik Varze would like to see you," he gasped. I nodded, and followed him as he spun around and ran back to the castle.

We finally arrived at the door of Sir Amik Varze's office. We knocked, and his booming voice told us to come in. We obliged.

Practically everyone was packed into Sir Amik Varze's office. The atmosphere was so depressing I felt like kneeling down and crying. Everyone from our gang was there, including Aaron, who looked as edgy as ever. Several white knight commanders stood together next to Sir Amik Varze's desk, looking very sombre. Sir Amik Varze sat by the desk itself. As soon as we walked in, Jamie closed the door behind us.

"Hello," he greeted us. "I wouldn't normally call you and your friends here in a situation such as the one we're facing now, but you've proven yourself trustworthy in my eyes.

"Well, the reason I summoned you is…" he hesitated for a second, before sighing. "There's been another murder." There was a ripple of groans that spread through the room. "But this time, the murderer left behind a clue. When our team of white knight detectives investigated the scene, they saw a trail of blood. They followed the blood, and it took them to a manhole leading to the Falador sewers."

"That entrance in particular is abandoned. Nobody uses it any more. It's starting to collapse, so nobody wants to go down there because it's so dangerous. It was meant to be an emergency exit, but there has never been an emergency, so that exit has never been used. It leads to the main underground sewage water reservoir, which is where all of the sewage in Falador goes. That reservoir is sometimes emptied and used for compost.

"Because it has never been used and people have forgotten about it, it would make a suitable hideout for a murderer. That's why we're sending a team of white knights down there to investigate late this night. There will be ten white knights in total going down. Jamie, I summoned you here to inform you that you are among those ten. So are you, Capablanca." Jamie and Capablanca nodded seriously.

"The rest of you are free to accompany them if you wish, but if you do go down, you must realise how dangerous it could be. At 11'o'clock tonight, anyone who is going down will meet by the manhole. It is behind the castle, near the Falador wall, for those who do not know where it is. That is all."

We left the office in groups, muttering to each other about it. Amy11 caught up with me and walked with me.

"Are you going with the white knights?" she asked casually.

"Yes," I replied, without thinking. I was very eager to find out who the murderer really was. The murderer had caused so much fear and unrest among the community in Falador. "What about you?"

"Me? No," she replied. "I hate sewers. As a matter of fact, I hate anything that's underground, since what happened in the Stronghold of Security. I was very reluctant to enter the dwarf mines for the first time." I nodded sympathetically.

I teleported to my house and spent at least an hour pacing around nervously. My material pile had grown so large I needed to keep it outside. I'd gotten the pile enchanted by Capablanca, because he knew a spell that could waterproof anything, including people. With the weather being so unstable at the moment, you never knew when it was going to be sunny and when it was going to be rainy.

I decided to gather some supplies. I teleported back to Falador, and walked towards the forest. I walked under the shadow of the trees. A cool breeze blew through the forest, and I finally felt at peace for a moment. I walked a bit deeper, and I heard a shuffling sound, I turned around, and I saw Aaron. He jumped a foot in the air before shooting me a suspicious look.

"Hello," I greeted cheerfully. "How are you?"

"I'm OK, thanks," Aaron replied. He sounded a little uncomfortable. There was an awkward pause.

"So, are you going on this little adventure in the sewers tonight?" I asked. Aaron nodded. He backed off, and ran into the shadows. I shrugged his odd behaviour off, and began cutting wood.

After half an hour at the very least, I had a bag full of logs. I wiped the sweat off my forehead. Fireworks burst around me. I decided to check my book. It told me I was level 27 in woodcutting. I wasn't entirely surprised; I'd been doing so much supply gathering and general training my level had grown very quickly. I gave Doric a quick visit and I got him to turn my logs into planks in exchange for some coins. He normally accepted silver ore as payment but he occasionally made exceptions. I dropped the planks off in my house.

I repeated the process a few times. By then, it was about 7:00pm. Pretty soon, I'd have to go to the manhole. I was in my house at the moment. I clutched my teleport tablet, and wished myself to teleport to Falador square. I disappeared, but instead of feeling the usual crushing sensation of teleporting, I found myself being blasted into a blindingly bright light. I was forced to shut my eyes. Once the light cleared, I opened my eyes hesitantly.

I was floating in purple fog. That was all I could see for miles; loads and loads of purple fog. I looked down. I was standing on something solid, yet it looked like I was floating in thin air.

I was panicking; where was I? I didn't understand my current situation. I was supposed to re-appear in the Falador square, not this bizarre place.

"Don't worry," a voice behind me laughed. "You're safe." I spun around frantically, and I was faced with Gypsy Aris. She hadn't changed much since the last time I saw her. She was even wearing the same clothes! She held her crystal ball under her arm.

"Where am I?" I demanded. "Why did you bring me here? Why are you wanted for treason by the law?" She put her hand up, and I stopped throwingquestions her way.

"Quiet, my friend," she said soothingly. "All will become clear soon. Allow me to explain. You see, right now we are in a random forest on the outskirts of Ardougne. This mist hides us from explorers that happen to pass us. This crystal ball can do many amazing things when used correctly.

"The reason I summoned you is… I'm in danger. Greedy people are after my crystal ball to use its mist for their own evil benefit. They've somehow convinced King David that I'm a menace to society, so I'm wanted in every big city in RuneScape. It's really annoying.

"Recently, I was using my crystal ball to gaze into the future, and I saw myself being captured and killed by guards. The mist is telling me that it is going to happen soon. I must protect the crystal ball from harm. The crystal ball will prove beneficial to you in the future, so I've decided to give it to you. Please look after it, and keep it safe. I will die very soon, and I can't let it fall into the wrong hands."

Before I could say anything, I felt myself falling into the purple mist. The blinding light came back, and I was forced to screw my eyes shut. When the light was gone, I opened my eyes, and I was back in Falador square. I was clutching the crystal ball. The mist inside floated around in a very relaxed way that was almost eerie. Suddenly, the mist disappeared. In the ball, I could see several white knights beating Gypsy Aris to death. I gasped, a tear springing to my eye. I could see the laughing face of King David. Then I could see the shadow of a man. He seemed to be shouting at someone. As quickly as they came, the images were gone, and the mist floated around inside the glass globe again.

I was very worried for Gypsy Aris. I hoped she would be OK. But why did she have to trust me with something as valuable as her crystal ball? How exactly could I use it? I was very confused. The sky was pretty dark by now, so I decided to make my way to the manhole we were meant to meet by.

I stopped at the bank to store the crystal ball and withdraw some food, and jogged towards the manhole. I finally got there. Altogether, ten white knights (including Capablanca and Jamie), Aaron and Slinky had shown up. I went over to them to greet them.

"What time is it?" I asked Capablanca. He showed me his pocket watch, which told me that it was 9:30pm.

I chatted with the white knights for a while. Osrie1 showed up soon after. The sun was gone completely now. It was pitch dark in the sky, with only a few stars dotting it. Capablanca checked his pocket watch.

"It's time to go," he announced seriously. I felt my heart thumping like a drum as Capablanca opened the manhole. I looked down, and all I could see was darkness. A disgusting stench hit my nose like an anvil. I stepped inside the manhole. My foot hit a ladder, and I climbed down.

I stood inside a massive rusting iron tunnel. A small river of filthy brown water ran underneath my feet, and rats scuttled around. Sir Amik Varze wasn't exaggerating when he said the emergency tunnel was in bad condition. Massive chunks of the pipe were missing, and several parts of the roof were collapsing, and some had already collapsed. The overpowering stench hung around like a toxic gas. You could practically taste the sewage. I walked down the pipe reluctantly, pinching my nose. The white knights, Slinky, Osrie1 and Aaron followed me.

We walked down this pipe for ten minutes, at the very least. I was starting to hear strange whispers. I heard a small, quiet hiss which seemed to come from behind us. I swung around, and everyone stopped to stare at me, alarmed. I could hear a rasping voice in my ear. I tried to ignore it, and we continued on our way.

We finally reached the end of the pipe. We stepped out of the pipe onto a balcony. We were in a massive circular room. The balcony led right around this room. There were other pipe openings nearby that were big enough for me to walk through. I looked over the edge of the balcony, and I saw a lake of filthy brown water. I retched. The stench was so overwhelming I couldn't describe it.

"This must be the reservoir of sewage Sir Amik Varze was talking about," Slinky murmured quietly. "I don't see any murderer though. Where is he/she?"

"Right here," a voice snickered. I swung around, and Mort stood there with a leer on his face. He was backed by at least a dozen other vampires.

He hadn't changed much. His skin was still as pale as snow. He seemed to have grown more muscular compared to the last time I saw him. He wore a rather tattered pinstriped suit which was stained with blood.

"You're the murderer!" I gasped. He gave me a wicked grin.

"Well, yes," he replied coldly. "But, technically, I'm only helping a certain someone by doing their dirty work. Allow me to explain.

"You see, Master Samuel expelled me from his little gang sometime last year. I was forced to return to my old home in the Stronghold of Security. We were literally starving. We'd grown accustomed to the taste of blood and because there was a lack of human life in our home we were craving it. We decided in the end to go to Falador to search for blood."

"But how did you manage to get into Falador without anyone noticing? How did you know to hide here?" I interrogated. I was frightened for my life, but curiosity was overpowering the fear. Mort gave me another one of his famous evil grins.

"We had a little help, so to speak." he told me. The crowd of vampires behind Mort parted, revealing the mastermind behind the murders. Standing there, smirking at us triumphantly was Cedric.

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_Dun dun duuuun! The Noob Exterminators are loose! Gypsy Aris is in trouble! Cedric, Mort and the vampires are the murderers! Mainiac and his friends are cornered! I'm shouting out the obvious for dramatic effect!_

_I hope this chapter was to your liking, considering that this is the introduction to 'the final fight' arc. So, were you expecting Cedric and Mort to be the murderers? If not, who were you expecting? Tell me in a review!_

_Just a quick note, I've edited chapter 1 and re-uploaded it (removed mistakes, etc, etc). For every new chapter that i write, I'll re-upload an old chapter or two with mistakes fixed, bits added, bits taken away, etc._

_Next time- Aaron's secret is revealed!_

_Until next time, toodles!  
_


	75. Chapter 75: Unequalled

_Hello, hello, hello, what's happenin' readers?_

_Before I start, I've edited and re-uploaded chapter 2 with mistakes corrected, etc. Just a side-note.  
_

_This is the conclusion to last chapter's cliffhanger. Please enjoy!  
_

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_**Chapter 75: Unequalled **_

"Cedric!" I gasped. "Why on earth would you work with vampires? Have you lost your mind? Explain yourself!"

"I'm not working with them because I like them or anything," he replied coldly. "I'm doing this out of spite. It's my way of opposing Sir Amik Varze and his way of running things; a renegade movement, you could say. Let me explain.

"You see, I believe Sir Amik Varze is a pompous bigot, to be frank. He's always been one. He's always making snide comments about me behind my back. He's in complete control, and he knows it. Trust me; I've been working with him for many years. I'm very familiar with him. I hate the way he runs things. He allows anybody into Falador freely, and it's nearly destroyed the city several times. The black knights have very talented spies, and Sir Amik Varze lets them in freely."

"Since when did you start hating our leader with such a passion?" I retorted angrily. Cedric sighed.

"Since you stepped in, of course," he countered. "I never trusted you the moment you stepped in. I knew you were bad news, and I didn't understand why Sir Amik Varze trusted you so much, but then again I realised he's always been in a world of his own.

You're a bad luck charm, Mainiac97. Wherever you go, death, destruction and misfortune follow. Our innocent city was so perfect before. We had a few problems with the black knights and the goblins then and again, but apart from that our lives were going very well. Then you stepped in and everything changed.

"Creatures became more aggressive. We noticed possessed animals there and again, but the moment you stepped in the rate of possessed animals that grew angry almost tripled. Crime rose, death rose, and everything negative rose. Sir Amik Varze was too blind to see that you were the cause of it.

"I was really stressed over it. I really wanted to dispose of you, but I was afraid of being discovered and losing my job. I wanted to show Sir Amik Varze the error of his ways, but I was unsure of how to do it. Then I met these vampires.

"They changed everything. They wanted blood and a home. I met them crawling through the nearby forest on a rainy night. They tried to kill me, but I succeeded in talking to them. I wanted to show Sir Amik Varze a thing or two, getting rid of you on the process. So we made a deal. I gave them the map of the entire pipe system so they could make their way around. I told them who to kill, and they murdered with glee. They get their blood, I get my say. We both win!"

"How does murdering a city prove a point?" I argued.

"You fool," Cedric sneered. "If Sir Amik Varze notices his people disappearing before his very eyes, he may decide to change the way he runs things."

I opened my mouth to argue, but it hit me. He was right. I WAS a bad luck charm. Maybe his way of opposing Sir Amik Varze was a little dark, a little desperate, but I could see the logic behind it. I tried to think of arguments. I really didn't want to agree with anyone who worked with vampires, but I felt myself feeling sympathy for Cedric.

"Look, maybe we can sort something out," I said weakly. "You don't have to resort to murder to prove a point to Sir Amik. I could talk with him if you really want me to. Don't trust those vampires. I've met them before, and I know them well enough to say that there's a possibility you could be backstabbed." Mort laughed, and a ripple of chuckles spread through the crowd of vampires.

"No," Cedric replied firmly. "I know that if I make an agreement with you, some other misfortune will befall us all. Besides, what reason do these vampires have to go against me? I'm giving them free blood."

"Don't underestimate them," I informed him. "They're very clever, and they've probably memorized the underground map already. They could easily go against you and continue with their murdering spree."

"Enough!" Mort spat. "How dare you!"

"Calm down, Mort," another vampire giggled. "At least we can feast tonight." He nodded. They all started walking toward us slowly. I heard Cedric cackle. I turned to face him, and I saw a manic grin on his face.

"Enjoy," he whispered, backing off. "Oh, by the way, they've built up immunity to fire. Some of these pipes carry great amounts of hot water, which is heated because of a furnace installed in the pipe system. They've been subjected to so much heat they've grown immune to it. Sunlight still hurts them, but not as much as before. Just thought I'd let you know before you try it." I turned back to the vampires. The bloodthirsty looks on their faces wasn't a very good omen. I sent a fire strike towards them, only to find out that Cedric was right. We braced ourselves for the fight of a lifetime.

They all bounded forward. I yelped as a vampire smashed into my chest, sending me flying backwards. I bit my lip in pain as my head hit the railings of the balcony. I stood up, and unsheathed Silverlight. The vampire sent his fist flying towards me. I used Silverlight to block the attack. He smashed his elbow into my face. Blood trickled from my nose. I groaned in pain, and hit the vampire repeatedly with Silverlight. He bounced back, spitting and hissing.

He grabbed my neck, and smashed me into the floor. I stood up, feeling my ribs to make sure none of them were broken. He picked me up again, and smashed me into the floor. Just as he lounged towards me again to pick me up, I pointed Silverlight upwards, and he pushed himself into the sword. He looked at the gaping hole in his chest. He roared, and started running towards me, but a white knight ran forward and attacked him. He was distracted, and I got the opportunity to back off.

I felt like I'd just been thrown into an egg beater. I pulled my shirt up, and my chest was covered with bruises. I'd only fought one vampire, and I already felt battered. I really didn't see why we had to resort to violence over this matter. This could easily be settled over a cup of tea. Cedric, instead of running off and making a deal with vampires, could have simply had a conversation with Sir Amik Varze, expressing his feelings.

The battle continued for a while. I was suffering very greatly, losing hit points like a tree losing leaves in the autumn. So far, four white knights were dead, and only one vampire had been slain. It had been a lucky shot; sword through the heart by Capablanca.

I walked out of the battle, covered with cuts and bruises. I had a black eye, and a hunk of flesh had been ripped out my arm earlier. I felt like kneeling down and sobbing with mental and physical torture, but I was forced to keep myself together. I looked up, and I was faced with Cedric. He smirked at me evilly.

"We'll settle this like men," he muttered. He unsheathed his sword. He swung his sword violently towards me. I blocked it with Silverlight hastily. I kicked Cedric in the stomach and he was pushed back several paces. Cedric bumped into something. He looked up, and saw the towering figure of Mort.

Mort and Aaron were locked in a ferocious duel. Aaron was no longer the nervous, twitchy person he'd become recently. He was a lion in battle, fighting with a confident look in his eyes.

Cedric stepped out of Mort's way and continued fighting me. Our swords clashed ferociously as we both fought for the victory we both desired. My muscles were beginning to ache. I managed to slip past his defences, and I struck him in the face. He screeched with pain as his cheek started bleeding.

"You'll pay for that!" he shouted. He whacked my sword with such force I was forced back a few feet. The struggle continued. I stared him in the eyes, and all I could see was pure hatred. "You've screwed my life up enough already; it's time for you to meet your demise!" He jabbed me aggressively in the stomach. I lost my temper, and kicked him so hard in the chest he was sent flying backwards into Mort.

"Get out of the way!" Mort snarled. "You're going to get yourself killed!" He pushed Cedric back. He grabbed me by the foot. I screeched in fear. Aaron daren't attack Mort while he was holding me. Mort chortled, and flung me into the roof. I was smashed into the roof with the force of a cannonball. I fell to the floor in a heap. The ceiling cracked above me where I hit it, and a small section of it collapsed. The falling debris fell into the reservoir of putrid brown water below. _The full moon must be out,_ I though to myself silently, because the collapsed part of the roof showed a small ray of moonlight. I didn't see a problem with it, but obviously, Aaron did.

Aaron's breath quickened as the ray of moonlight shone on him. "No," he gasped. "I forgot. It's the full moon tonight!" He body started shuddering uncontrollably. "I'm so sorry. You have to run, NOW. Never mind the vampires; if you stay any longer you'll be as good as dead." I could see tears rolling down his cheek. "JUST GO!"

"What's wrong, Aaron?" I asked nervously. Before he could say anything, he roared, and fell down on his knees.

"It's too late," he whispered. "You should have gone while you had the chance." All of a sudden, the shuddering stopped. There was silence for almost a minute while Aaron knelt there, breathing deeply. Then it began.

He started growing. He grew so big his clothes ripped and fell around his feet, a pile of rags. Filthy brown fur burst from his body like some sort of alien creature that had been living inside of him. His teeth seemed to double in size as they transformed into fangs. His nails also doubled in size and transformed into claws. A massive brown tail burst from his behind. His arms grew until they looked like two massive tree trunks. With a cracking sound, he suddenly burst upwards. The result was a…

"Werewolf," Mort murmured. Aaron had disappeared. Instead, a ten-foot, drooling, spitting, angry werewolf stood there.

My eyes filled with unshed tears as I realised what Aaron had been hiding. He was a werewolf. That explained everything. It explained why he'd been disappearing, it explained why he'd been acting so edgy, and it even explained why he'd been refusing to talk to us about it. If word got out that he was a werewolf, he'd be hunted down and killed. He'd be blamed for the murders, that much was definite.

"Damn it," Mort grunted. "This changes a lot of things. We have to get out of here!" Before he could do anything else, Aaron bounded towards him, snarling. Mort was quick, but he wasn't quick enough. What followed wasn't pretty. Mort was ripped apart, literally. Mort screamed his last scream as Aaron ripped his throat out. I retched, and I was forced to look away. The smell was overwhelming.

The remaining vampires (there were about seven of them) screamed, and ran. One of them stopped to grab what remained of Mort before following the other vampires. Aaron must have slaughtered at least two of them as the tried to flee from him. Cedric tried to run after them.

"No! Wait for me!" he screamed. "We had a deal, you filthy, bloodsucking monsters!" He was blocked off by a furious werewolf. He screamed again, and ran in the opposite direction. He was met with the railings. He spun around again, only to be faced with a snarling Aaron. He gulped. He was cornered. Aaron picked him up by the throat, growling.

I watched Cedric struggle desperately from the vice-like grip of Aaron's new werewolf form. I was very eager to see Cedric get his comeuppance, but at the same time I couldn't let him die. Maybe he was an obnoxious git. Maybe he did have the nerve to work with vampires. Maybe he was messed up in the head. But that didn't give me any excuse to let him die. I couldn't do to him what I did to Scum the dwarf. I ran forward with Silverlight, and jabbed Aaron in the stomach with it.

Aaron howled in surprise and pain, and Cedric was flung into the sky. With a final bawl of fear, Cedric fell into the reservoir, and I saw no more of him. I could hear splashes, screams and gasps, but then I heard no more. I looked down into the reservoir. I saw nothing. I felt an empty numbness inside my head. I was trying to save Cedric, and I ended up killing him.

I was distracted from my mourning by a bellow behind me. I swung around, and I saw Aaron towering above me. He swung his paw at me, and I ducked.

"We need to get out of here, NOW!" I yelled to the others as a paw sent me flying into the air a few feet. I stood up, and ran as fast as I could towards the exit pipe. The other followed me, panting. We were closely pursued by Aaron, who was roaring so loudly the area around us was vibrating.

We sped down the pipe, fuelled by adrenaline. We knew that if we stopped, even for a second, we were doomed. Aaron, in his wolf form, was uncontrollable and angry. He wasn't in his right mind.

We arrived at the end of the pipe. I was just beginning to scramble up the ladder, when a terrifying thought occurred to me. If we went to the surface, Aaron would follow. He'd been hiding from us whenever he transformed for a reason. If he went into Falador like this, he'd kill countless people.

"We need to somehow knock out Aaron so he won't hurt anyone on the surface!" I yelled. I tried to think of ideas as quickly as I could, because Aaron was approaching us as high speed. It was too late. Aaron had caught up with us. He grabbed a white knight by the throat, and ripped him apart. The screams of pain filled the entire pipe. I was sobbing my eyes out. So much death had been caused. When would the suffering end?

While Aaron was distracted by the flesh of the white knight, I noticed the ceiling above him was cracked.

"Everyone, we need the ceiling above Aaron to collapse on him," I whispered. "On the count of three, use a water spell on it." I counted to three, and a flurry of water strikes, bolts filled the surrounding space. They all hit the cracked ceiling, and the ceiling gave way under the pressure. The debris hit Aaron, and Aaron was knocked unconscious,

I went up to the unconscious werewolf cautiously. My heart welled up with sadness as I saw what one of my best friends had become. Why had he hidden this from us?

An hour later, I found myself in Sir Amik Varze's office with Slinky, Jamie, Osrie1 and Capablanca. We'd carried Aaron's unconscious body to the castle. It wasn't an easy task; Aaron was very heavy. Aaron was currently in a cell in the castle dungeons, being guarded by two white knights. We'd spent the last twenty minutes telling Sir Amik Varze what had happened.

"You've been through a lot tonight," he sighed. "I thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for going on this expedition. The murders have been solved. Maybe there are still some vampires out there, but they've been scared away by Aaron's surprise transformation and the death of their leader. They won't be returning for a while. Maybe I'm partially responsible for this for running the city with a lax attitude and angering Cedric. I thought maybe he was a little obnoxious, a little unpleasant, but I never suspected him to be capable of arranging murder."

"But sir, I still don't understand the werewolf cycle," I said. "Could you possibly explain it to me?"

"Well," Sir Amik Varze said thoughtfully. "It is a rather curious process. It depends entirely on the person, to be honest. A man can only become a werewolf through ancestry (if the person's parents are werewolves, the child will be one too). A person can be bitten by a werewolf and there's a 40% that person will become one.

"A werewolf will always change if it goes into contact with moonlight, full stop. There aren't any spells or potions that can combat this yet. The power of the full moon is unequalled. But a werewolf can change at other times. There are certain werewolves that can control when they change completely, but there are others that could change at any second. There are also those in between, who can control when they change, but sometimes change against their will.

"There is also the question of them keeping their will. Some werewolves can't control when they change, but when they do change they will keep their minds and wills. There are others that can control when they change, but if they change they'll lose control of their bodies."

"What type of werewolf is Aaron?" I asked curiously.

"Well, I think he has a small amount of control, but the most part he can't control himself," Sir Amik Varze replied. "Why would he need to hide if he can control his transformations?"

At that moment, a white knight ran in frantically.

"Sir," he gasped. "Aaron's escaped!" Sir Amik Varze stood up, a serious expression on his face. "We were guarding him. About five minutes ago he stirred and started hammering against the bars, howling and roaring. We heard a scratching sound for three or so minutes, and suddenly the bars collapsed. He knocked my comrade out, and fled the castle by jumping out a window into the moat, and swimming across."

The white knight led us to his cell in the dungeons, panting. He led us down some spiral steps, into a dirty concrete room. Half of the room had been separated by metal bars, which were collapsed. The other white knight had regained consciousness, and was investigating the scene.

"Look!" he called to us. "He's carved something into the wall!" We ran over to investigate. Sure enough, a message had been carved into the wall. It read:

_To all of my friends who read this,_

_I've woken up now to find out I've regained my will, but I'm still in wolf form. I can't remember what I did tonight as a wolf, but I must have done something serious to wake up in a dungeon cell. I'd like to start off by apologising to the guard I am now going to knock out. I'd also like to apologise to Sir Amik Varze for vandalising his cells with messy messages; writing using your fingernails in wolf form is more difficult than it seems. To my friends who accompanied me into the dungeons, I'm sorry for the surprise transformation. I feel like I owe you all an explanation. _

_As you may have figured out already, I am a werewolf. I've been a werewolf from birth. My parents were werewolves; all of my siblings are werewolves too. I learnt how to control my transformations from a young age. I was raised in Catherby with many other werewolves. I have a clan of werewolves in Catherby that consists of family and friends. I still write to them, and I can communicate with them while I'm a werewolf with howls._

_I liked exploring when I was younger, and I joined an exploration troop which was my job until recently. That's how I met you. I was exploring the Stronghold of Security with some other explorers and I was knocked out on the bottom floor. You just happened to find me. That's how I joined you._

_Recently, for some strange reason, I lost my control over my werewolf form so I couldn't control when I transformed. That's why I started hiding and disappearing. I was trying to keep everyone I knew safe. Every time I felt a transformation coming on, I'd hide. I lost my will, and I didn't remember what I did during my time as a werewolf. For all I knew, I was the mystery murderer. It was probably a bad idea for me to come down with you. I forgot that it was the full moon tonight._

_I'm very sorry, but I can't risk any more lives. I'm going back to Catherby with my clan. I'm going to re-train vigorously so I can control myself. If you try following us, we're going to keep running and hiding. We may meet again sometime in the future, when I finish my training. I'm sorry, but it's too dangerous to have me tagging around with you. Travelling with you has been amazing, and I wouldn't have traded the experience for the world._

_Goodbye._

A tear came to my eye once I finished reading. Aaron was gone, just like that. He'd been such an amazing friend, and I hoped we'd meet him again in the future. I understood why he had to go. I wouldn't follow him; that wouldn't be fair.

So many terrible things had happened tonight. Many innocent lives had been lost. I felt Cedric was very abhorrent, but he didn't deserve to die the way he did. All he was trying to do was file a complaint and prove a point, but he was doing it all wrong. Teaming up with vampires was as desperate as you could get.

I was glad Mort was dead, but I knew we wouldn't see that last of the vampires. There was no chance they were going to continue murdering in Falador with the fear of Aaron still present (especially with limited numbers) but I knew they weren't completely gone. We'd gotten rid of them for the most part, but at a price.

I noticed that our gang seemed to be disappearing, bit by bit, one by one. Capablanca was more or less gone. He was still here, but there was no way he was going to continue travelling with us with his job. Mark had gone back to his home village to fight off a bandit invasion. Aaron had gone back to his clan to re-train. Who was going to be next?

* * *

_Well, I hope you liked that. Since this chapter answers many questions and solves many mysteries, I worked especially hard on it. _

_Now readers, what's your opinion? Do you see the logic behind Cedric's decision? How do you feel about his death? Do you think it was a good idea for Aaron to return to his clan? Were you surprised by Aaron's secrets? Tell me what you think in a review! It's very interesting to see a mixed bag of reactions and opinions.  
_

_Next time: "You've encountered us seperately, now it's time for you to feel our true power when we're together!"_

_Hasta la próxima, adiós!_


	76. Chapter 76: Saviour

_Hello, hello, hello, what's happenin' readers?_

_Just a side-note before I start, I've re-uploaded chapter 3 with mistakes corrected, etc. Also, Dream Decay and the Silver Wasp belongs to the one and only Haseo the Terror of Death.  
_

_I hope you enjoy this chapter!  
_

* * *

_**Chapter 76: Saviour**_

"Don't you think you've had enough?" the barmaid asked with a genuinely concerned look in her eyes. I sighed, gulping down my tenth beer.

"Probably," I admitted. My speech was beginning to slur.

"Look, I know you well enough to know that something is wrong when you're drinking this much," she told me. "You feel like talking about it? There's barely anybody here, all the glasses are clean, and so I have nothing to do. You look like you need to let something out." I felt a voice in the back of my mind protest, but I was too drunk to care, so I spilled my heart.

"I feel like my entire life was a mistake," I sobbed. "Everything I do causes misery to others. I'm the whole reason we're facing so many problems!"

"You don't get it, do you?" the barmaid laughed. "If it weren't for you, Falador would be a ghost town! You and your friends have saved the lives of so many people!"

"But I was the reason they needed saving," I grumbled. "I was the cause of the vampires coming to Falador. I made Cedric doubt Sir Amik Varze enough to team up with vampires."

"What Cedric didn't understand was that you solved the problems around you," the barmaid replied.

"At a cost," I said sadly. "Like when I did something as simple as helping Doric the dwarf, I had a group of chaos dwarves after my blood. To solve that, I ended up killing their leader in a most gruesome manner when he could have simply been arrested."

"Mainiac97, feeling guilt for saving lives?" the barmaid fake-gasped. "How did that happen?"

"I really wish I knew," I sighed. "I remember in the olden days I didn't care much about killing people. But now I feel so guilty about death. All my friends are either dying or going away, one by one. I don't feel very happy at the moment. What's happening to me?"

"You'll have to ask a doctor about that," the barmaid frowned. "I wish I could help more, really, but I'm still getting a lot of trouble involving Emily's disappearance. You know I'm here whenever you need someone to talk to."

"Thanks Tina," I mumbled. The name Emily rung a bell, but I wasn't thinking straight enough to consider it. I left the bar, stumbling slightly.

The sun was finally out today. The weather had been gloomy for a long time, which I associated with the 'approaching darkness'. It was refreshing to see the sun out, but I'd just been in a pitch-black bar for the last hour or so, so the sun hurt my eyes. Being drunk never helped me either. I moaned, stumbling around, trying to shade my eyes the best I could.

"Drunk again?" someone behind me questioned with a hint of discontent in his voice. Before I could reply, suddenly, a strange sensation swept through me. My head cleared, and I no longer had to shade my eyes from the sun glaring down on me. I turned around, and saw Capablanca. He gave me a slightly disapproving smile. "This is the third time this week that I've had to cast a sobering spell on you." I gave him an apologetic look. "Why, Mainiac97? It isn't helping you one bit. Is something wrong?"

"No, not at all," I lied. I still felt down, so I decided to have a walk around. Capablanca shook his head and went back to his patrolling duty.

I knew my drinking was a problem. I'd spent over 400gp on beer in the last month or so, and that meant something, considering beer only cost 2-5gp. I'd been considering talking to someone about my worries and issues but there was nobody that I felt entirely comfortable talking to. I did try talking to Osrie1 before, but he wouldn't understand. Amy11 was more sympathetic, but she couldn't do more than give me a comforting hug. I'd been channelling my worry into work recently, but I wasn't sure how much more I could push myself.

Recently, I'd decided to stop gathering supplies for my house, deciding to start work on the new room. I wasn't sure what the room as going to be used for at the moment, but I was beginning work on it. I was aided by Dream Decay, who knew a thing or two about building.

Falador square was bustling with activity around me. Children ran around happily, taking advantage of the sunlight. People sat in benches, and all of the shops were holding summer sales. White knights stood around, keeping an eye on things. Security had tripled since the murders.

The one thing that caught my eye, though, was a stall. The man in the stall was selling small pots of a strange substance.

"What is that stall selling?" I asked Capablanca curiously as he passed me.

"That's what they call frozen cream, commonly known as 'ice cream'," Capablanca replied, still looking slightly displeased at me being drunk.

"What is 'ice cream' made of?" I queried.

"It's made out of a mixture of cream, milk, and sugar," Capablanca informed me. "Sometimes they add other things to the mix, like chocolate, or fruit. The mixture is frozen by a mage, and stirred a little to keep chunks of ice from forming. The result is a smoothly textured ice cream."

"How do you know all of this?" I grilled.

"We white knights had to inspect the stall before it was set up," Capablanca smiled. "In these harsh times, we need to make sure everything and everybody is reliable. The murders taught us a valuable lesson about being lax, so Cedric didn't die in vain. Besides, I discovered recently that the stall is set up every summer when/if the weather is nice. The stall is also celebrating the end of the murders, so it'll be up for longer this year. There are identical stalls in Lumbridge, Varrock, Seer's Village, and Ardougne." I went up to the stall, and joined the small queue.

After a while, I reached the front of the queue. A pile of pots, spoons and ingredients stood to one side of the man behind the stall. On the other side, another man in light blue robes stood over several large metal containers, muttering strange words. Blue light was coming from one of his hands, while the other was making stirring motions. He was obviously casting a spell to freeze the mixtures in the metal containers, while also casting another one to stir the contents.

"Hello, what can I get you?" the man behind the stall said cheerily.

"I'll have an 'ice cream'," I requested. He nodded.

"Any particular flavour?" the man enquired.

"What flavours do you have?"

"We have plain ice cream, chocolate, strawberry, banana, and watermelon," the man listed, counting with his fingers.

"I'll try a chocolate one, please," I decided. The man grabbed a pot and a spoon. He went up to a metal container, and spooned some ice cream into the pot. He handed it to me.

"That'll be 24gp, please," the man said. I handed him the money, and he gave me the pot. I walked off, satisfied.

I ate my ice cream. It was really cold and refreshing; it was perfect for a hot day like this. It had a very sweet taste but you could also taste the cream. The chocolate was strong. _They must make a small fortune from the stall, _I thought. When I finished, I licked my lips. It was delicious, but it didn't lift my spirit much. I still felt a little gloomy, reflecting on my life and the woe that surrounded it. I put my pot and spoon back on the stall, and went to sit on a bench.

Just as I sat down, I noticed that I was sitting right next to Dream Decay. He looked up, and he gave me a grin. I grinned back half-heartedly.

"Hello," he greeted. "How are you?"

"I'm not feeling too good at the moment," I admitted. "I'm kind of depressed, actually. The recent occurrences with Cedric, Mort and Aaron have really opened my eyes to how much death and destruction I have caused. My very existence threatens everyone I love and care about. So many people are after me for one reason or another. Psychics know something about me that even I don't know. Evil follows in my footsteps. I mean, even when I lift a finger to help Doric the dwarf, I run into scum (no pun intended, of course). I occasionally wonder if life is worth living if it carries such a heavy burden." Dream only laughed, which infuriated me. Why didn't anyone take me seriously any more?

"I know exactly how you feel," Dream told me seriously. "I was going through a very tough time a while ago. I was having strong feelings of guilt. I also questioned whether life was worth living if it carried such a curse, but in the end I realised something. Tell me, what do you enjoy in life?"

I had to think for a minute before I decided on my answer. "Well, I love all of my friends. I love seeing other people happy. I love the charged atmosphere in parties, and I love the sense of adventure when exploring an unfamiliar place. I used to love the full moon on a quiet night, but I've lost that love recently."

"It sounds like you love a lot of things in life," Dream smiled. "Now weigh the positives and the negatives. Think about it. If the good things in life mean enough to you, you'll trudge through the bad to live the good."

"But I endanger my friends," I protested. "It's a terrible risk."

"Do you think they care?" Dream chortled. "Tell me, have any of your friends actually died as a result of your curse? Yes, Mark had to leave, but that had nothing to do with you. Aaron left too, but that was his own decision. Neither of them died because of you. Yes, Cedric died, but he was bad news anyway. If he continued to live, goodness knows how much trouble he would have caused. Neither Scum the dwarf or Mort were your friends."

It was at that moment it hit me. Life may be a little grimy in places, but there were some really good things in it. I didn't realise what I had. Friends may have suffered because of me, but they didn't seem to care. None of them had actually died because of me. What was the use in drowning my sorrows in alcohol and questioning life? I should be enjoying my life, not wasting it worrying about the curse it carries. Life is a gift, and throwing it away wouldn't help anybody. I stood up, and shook Dream's hand.

"Thanks buddy," I grinned. "I needed that boost."

"Any time," Dream beamed.

We spent the next ten minutes talking about my house. Dream suggested putting a kitchen in the new room I was in the process of building, but I wasn't too sure. Just as I was standing up to get some more ice cream, the earth started shaking. I fell over, and Dream helped me up.

"What's going on?" Dream asked seriously. Several cracks appeared in the ground. People started screaming and scattering until only the white knights remained. The shaking got so aggressive that the stall collapsed, burying the poor workers behind it in debris, pots and spoons. The statue of Saradomin gave off a heavy rumbling noise, and toppled over with a thunderous crash. All of a sudden, the earth below me collapsed. I jumped out of the way. A metal drill burst from the ground, and the Brown Beetle pulled himself from the hole. He turned to me, giving me a filthy scowl. He wore his brown leather costume, with menacing metal drills instead of hands.

"Well, look who it is," he hissed. "It's Falador's great hero. Yes, I heard about what you and your little friends did. So you saved Falador from a group of bloodthirsty vampires, at the cost of the life of a white knight senior. You must be so proud of yourself." I could hear a tint of sarcasm in his greasy voice.

I opened my mouth to say something, but I was interrupted by a heavy buzzing noise from the sky. I looked up and I saw the Pink Butterfly flying down to us. I noticed that she was wearing her usual pink leather costume, but this time massive metal wings protruded from her back. In her hands she held a small black tube. She landed cleanly next to the Brown Beetle.

"Hello again," she said sweetly. The Brown Beetle moaned.

"Did you have to bring your lipstick?" he snapped. The Pink Butterfly snickered.

"This isn't a lipstick, fool," she said coldly. "You, of all people, should know that by now." It was slightly unnerving to see her usually sweet and sinister personality freeze. She held the 'lipstick' in front of her (the tip facing us), and pressed a button. A massive stream of flames poured from the tip of the tube. I yelped and dived out of the way.

I heard a very familiar roaring sound from behind me. I saw the Black Fly approaching at very high speed on his motorbike, a triumphant smirk plastered on his face and the Silver Wasp behind him, her arms wrapped around his shoulder. As usual, large wings protruded from her back. These wings were genuine wings, as opposed to the Pink Butterfly's metal wings. They got off the bike. The Black Fly seemed to remove the seat from the motorbike, and pulled out a flat metal square with pipes and odd buttons on it. He pressed a button on this metal square, and it grew, transforming into the Black Fly's sky stick. The Black Fly jumped on his stick, and flew above us.

"You've encountered us separately, now it's time for you to feel our true power when we're together!" he yelled. "Many months ago, you managed to avoid the grasp of the Demon Clan, but I hired some more powerful members, and we are back and stronger than ever!"

I spun around frantically. Dream and I were surrounded by the Brown Beetle, Pink Butterfly and Silver Wasp. They were closing in slowly.

"We have no choice but to fight," Dream whispered. I gasped.

"We can't!" I shouted. "They're way too strong. We'll get ripped apart!"

"Either way, we'll get ripped to shreds," he grumbled in reply. "I don't know about you, but I'd rather die with honour and dignity if I'm to die at all."

"Very well," I agreed reluctantly. Holding my breath, I charged towards the Silver Wasp.

I was blasted into the air by her fist. It was unexpected, to say the least. Screaming, I began falling, but I was grabbed by the scruff of the neck by the Black Fly. Sniggering, he punched me repeatedly in the stomach. I spluttered, struggling against his vice-like grip, but no avail.

"You like the feeling?" he spat. "This is the feeling of humiliation and defeat you gave me. You defeat all of your foes by accident, by luck, but not today. Today, you die!" He punched me so hard I began coughing up blood. He pulled out his green electrocuted sword with the jagged blade. I eyed it, terrified.

"Hey, Fly!" The Brown Beetle yelled. "Come on, share!" The Black Fly shrugged, putting his sword away (to my relief). I was dropped over thirty feet onto the ground. I stood up, checking myself for broken ribs and bruises. I felt several.

The Brown Beetle approached me slowly. He looked like he would have cracked his knuckles if he had any.

"This is for what you did to me in the dwarf mines!" he bellowed. His left drill/hand started spinning. I screamed as my arm was almost ripped off. I looked down to see a massive bloody gash across my chest, with a small hunk of flesh missing from my shoulder. I knelt down in agony, clutching my shoulder. He stomped on my shoulder gleefully, causing me more pain.

I looked into his muddy-brown eyes. They were rolling madly. I shuddered, and dragged myself up. I swung my fist towards him, and it hit him on the cheek. He swore, and his spinning drill went towards my stomach. I dodged cleanly. He angrily jumped up, and dove into the ground.

The earth around my feet cracked and collapsed. I tried to avoid falling into the constantly moving pit of earth, but it was difficult. I narrowly avoided getting mauled by a drill appearing underneath me. The Brown Beetle crawled from the earth, and swung his drill towards me again, and it clipped my leg. I fell over in pain. I tried to crawl away, but then the Silver Wasp grabbed me and started beating me black and blue. There was a manic glint in her eyes. I felt for something to protect myself with on my belt. I felt weapons but no shields. It just occurred to me that I had no decent shield to protect myself with. I decided to buy one if I ever got out of the battle alive.

This was pure hell for me. I'd just been dragged from a peaceful chat with Dream and into a nightmarish world of pain and revenge. I was so badly injured I couldn't even describe it. My entire body felt like it had been through a blender several times.

I watched from the corner of my eye as Dream Decay tried to fight the Pink Butterfly unsuccessfully. He dodged streams of hot flames that licked at his ankles. Capablanca and three white knights had joined the fight, battling ferociously against the Brown Beetle and the Black Fly. I was distracted by a punch to the face by the Silver Wasp.

"I'm getting bored now," she hissed. She pulled out her long, silver javelin from a sheath on her back. She pointed it to my throat. I closed my eyes and waited for the dreaded moment where she would plunge it through my neck and kill me. It never came. I opened an eye cautiously to see a white knight bravely grab her from behind, keeping her from killing me. She growled in anger, swung around, and sent him flying backwards with her elbow. The distraction was enough for me to stand up and unsheathe Silverlight. It was very painful, considering I'd just been beaten brutally. She turned around to see me in a battle stance. She snorted.

"You really think you can fight me?" she giggled. She wielded her javelin the way you'd wield a sword, and ran forward. Our weapons clanged together loudly as we battled ferociously. I was losing strength quickly, and she just had to kick me once for me to fall back, gasping for breath. I quickly cast a water spell on her, but it didn't hurt her. She started flapping her wings and she flew into the air. She was poised to throw her javelin at me.

All of a sudden, something appeared in my hand. It was a familiar card with a picture of a mouse wearing a highwayman's mask. The simple word 'duck' was scrawled onto the card. I looked around for ducks, but then I realised what the card meant by 'duck'. I ducked, and a steel sword flew over my head and hit the Silver Wasp in the wing. She screeched and fell to the earth with a crash. The steel sword seemed to disappear in mid-air. Something flew past me, and began attacking the Silver Wasp. She squeaked, and tried to fly, but couldn't because of her injured wing. She was knocked around like a rag-doll by the mysterious blur. After a particularly hard strike to the head, she was knocked unconscious.

The blur stopped for a split second, and I recognised the person as the man from the feast. He was the person who saved me from the Noob Exterminators, and he sent the mysterious key to me on Christmas. He was rather tall, and painfully thin. He had messy dark brown hair like the end of a mop, and brown eyes with a hopeless, dead, dank look to them. He wore baggy black clothes, and a rather long black cape. He wore sturdy leather boots. A steel sword hung from a holster on his black clothes. He gave me a quick smile, and rushed off towards the Brown Beetle.

The Brown Beetle literally screamed as he was dragged out of battle. He was spun around and tossed into the air. He was sent flying into the Black Fly, who was knocked off his sky-stick. The sky-stick spiralled downwards, smashing into the Black Fly's motorbike. There was a small explosion and all that remained was a pile of burning rubble. The Pink Butterfly panicked and sent a stream of fire everywhere. Thankfully, my mysterious saviour knocked her weapon out of her hands and into the White Knight Castle moat. The Pink Butterfly had one of her metal wings ripped off. She was hit with the wing and was knocked unconscious. The mysterious man stopped running around. He gathered all of the Demon Clan together. They were all unconscious.

"Get some backup to lock them up," he whispered to Capablanca and the other white knights. They nodded, looking awestruck, and ran off towards the castle.

He grabbed my arm and began dragging me away, but he was stopped by Dream Decay.

"Wait a second. I'm very grateful to you for saving us, but you can't whisk my friend off like that. What do you plan to do now? Who are you?" he demanded. The man sighed.

"You can come too if you must," he said, defeated. He grabbed Dream's arm and dragged us both off. It hurt a lot, considering I'd just had most of my ribs and a few other bones broken.

He stopped dragging us after a while when he realised he was causing me pain. He led us through the streets of Falador, and up to a manhole. He opened the manhole, and dropped into the pipe system. It was disgusting. A small river of filthy brown water ran underneath my feet. The whole tunnel was rusty. It was similar to the other tunnel which led to the reservoir of dirty sewage. You could practically taste it.

The man led us down a long and confusing pipe system before we arrived at something random to find in a pipe system: a door. He unlocked and opened the door and we stepped inside.

We were inside a small room. In one corner, there was a small pile of hay accompanied with a blanket. Next to it stood a small picture frame. In another corner, a sink accompanied with a toilet sat there. In a corner close to us, there was an anvil, and in the final corner, a large cupboard stood.

"Before we do anything else, let's get you healed," he muttered, mostly to himself. He muttered a spell, and my bones seemed to heal themselves. Bruises and cuts were still there, but this man had fixed most of the damage.

"I've been living in this small room for over two years," the man sniffed. "I'm too poor to afford an actual house. I'm not really allowed in here, but we're so deep in the pipe system nobody really notices."

"Who exactly are you?" I interrogated. "I'm very grateful for you saving my life on more than one occasion, but who exactly are you?"

"Well," he groaned. "You can call me Ninjamouse1." I narrowed my eyes. It was an odd name, but I guessed Mainiac97 wasn't much better. It also explained the picture on his cards. "I've had a terrible past that I would rather not recount. I spend endless days in here, slaving over my trusty anvil, trying to make a few coins." He opened his cupboard, and pulled out a small sack full of coins. "I make the money by selling armour I make to people, or to the Falador general store. I use this money to buy my food, but if I can't afford it I steal it." He pulled out a bigger sack full to the brim with coins. "I'm saving up slowly to buy my own house. I don't like stealing this 'house', I don't like stealing food, and I don't like stealing anything, but I will if I have to. I'm quite an accomplished thief, if I do say so myself."

"Why exactly do you save me constantly?" I asked, this time a little more kindly.

"You remind me of myself when I was younger," he admitted. "I have the peculiar gift of peering into people's thoughts. I don't like doing it, but it can be useful. That's how I knew about that brute Madrey1's past."

"I remember you sent me a key last Christmas," I reminded him. "What does it do?"

"I don't really know," he confessed. "I was on my way back to Falador after selling some armour to noobs in Lumbridge and I found a dying man on the crossroad near Draynor. He told me to give the key to someone trustworthy, or keep it myself. He then died. I had no use for it, but I thought, as an adventurer, maybe you would." I felt in my pocket, and took the key out. He nodded towards it. "You never know."

"OK, thanks for answering my questions," I thanked him. "It's been nice meeting you. I have one more question: why didn't you introduce yourself to me before?"

"You scared me before," he replied honestly. "Simply because, when I tried to peer into your mind, all I saw was darkness. I've never had problems with my gift before, so when I saw nothing but black in your head I panicked. Only today I realised that there was no need to be afraid of you."

"Odd things happen to me," I observed. "I'm never completely sure why they happen. It's very unnerving and difficult to live with, but I just have to live with them. I hate that I'm such a magnet for weirdness, disaster and destruction, but only recently did I learn that to live the pleasures of life you need to slog through the bad things." I smiled at Dream knowingly, and he smiled back.

We chatted casually for five to ten minutes, before I decided it was time to go. Ninjamouse1 guided us through the tunnels to the ladder which we came in through. He waved us goodbye, and we left the sewers.

We walked back into the Falador square. White knights surrounded the area, investigating. The members of the Demon Clan were in chains and were being dragged away by a small fleet of white knights, still unconscious. We walked up to Jamie and a white knight commander, who were talking.

"So basically, we're going to have to keep the one in brown under a spell?" Jamie enquired. The commander nodded.

"He has those drill devices as hands," he answered sombrely. "He could easily drill through metal and escape, so we have to cast a spell on him that would keep him in a trance to he would be unable to escape. As a master of fact, I think we should cast that enchantment on all of them. We don't know what they all can do." Dream and I walked away.

"Want to go to your house and carry on work?" Dream Decay asked. I nodded. I pulled out the teleportation tablet, and we both teleported to my house.

As we worked, I considered my very busy day. I was glad my mind was put to rest involving Ninjamouse1, because worries had constantly plagued me about him before today. He was surprisingly powerful, but he'd probably had a lot of experience.

I felt much better after my chat with Dream earlier. Although I still despised my life to an extent, I'd have to grow used to it, or I'd be constantly depressed over it. I still had things to look forward to, like friends, food, fights, and, of course, my house! I had my whole life ahead of me. I couldn't lose all of that because of my pessimistic way of thinking.

I was glad I had a good friend in Dream. He was always there to help me through my worst worries and my most vile moods. He was very eager to help people around him. If it weren't for him, I probably wouldn't even have a house right now! I was very grateful that I knew someone like him.

I was slightly shaken after my encounter with the Demon Clan. I could fight each member on their own (albeit I'd need help), but when they were together they were unstoppable. The Black Fly always floated above, ready to grab unsuspecting victims. The Brown Beetle was a tough nut that could batter even the strongest of foes. The Silver Wasp seemed like an absolute blood-thirty lunatic underneath her enchantingly beautiful body. You could see it in her eyes. As for the Pink Butterfly, her device that created towers of white-hot flames could scorch castles to the ground.

Together, they were like a ferocious hurricane, pounding their foes to the floor. I was very intimidated by them. They'd probably gone through a lot of vigorous training to get to that level of strength. I was really glad they were going to be behind bars thanks to Ninjamouse1._ If they ever faced Aaron in a full moon they'd have a tough time defeating him,_ I chuckled to myself mentally.

I was surprised Ninjamouse1 had the strength and agility to defeat them, but I guessed he had a lot more experience than them. Besides, not only was he very fast, he had the element of surprise. He seemed to have the ability to melt into the shadows. He was truly the biggest enigma I'd ever met, even combating the likes of my past. I was completely sure he was a friend, but he just had the feeling of secrecy and mystery around him. I had the feeling he was more important to me and my past than I took him for.

* * *

_I hope that was to your liking! _

_A little question to go along with today's chapter. Mainiac is adding a new room to his house, but what room should he add? A kitchen? A bedroom? A trophy room? Something completely new? You tell me! Never mind levels at this point, because the contruction skill is very different in my story. I'm open to room suggestions and I'll taking all of them into account. I've also made a poll about the subject if you want to take part in that.  
_

_I'd like to thank certain people for helping me through a certain problem I had recently. You know who you are and you know what the problem was ;-)_

_I'd also like to apologise to Ninjamouse1 for the delay in including his charater. The character Ninjamouse1 was requested by the person Ninjamouse1 (obviously :P). He won second place of the character competition I held at about chapter 59. I've been trying to find a slot to fit him in. He doesn't seem too important at the moment, but he's more important than you take him for..._

_Next time on TATRS, it begins..._

_Until next time, toodles!  
_


	77. Chapter 77: Traitor

_Hello, hello, hello, what's happenin' readers?_

_This was a very long and difficult chapter to write (as a matter of fact, I think this chapter is the longest one in the story). Because of the importance of this chapter I had to make sure every little detail was correct._

_By the way, I've re-uploaded chapter 4 with mistakes corrected, author notes added, etc._

_A few people have told me they've spotted errors in the last chapter. In future, if you spot an immediately obvious typo/error, could you please inform me what the typo is, as opposed to simply telling me that there is one? It would be tremendously helpful. Thank you. _

_Disclaimer: I do not own Jagex, RuneScape, or any of the RuneScape characters. All I own is the plot of this fanfiction and some of the characters in the story. I am not making a financial profit from this story._

_Well, enjoy!  
_

* * *

_**Chapter 77: Traitor**_

I sat down on my chair, gasping for breath. I was absolutely exhausted. All of my muscles were aching, and my stomach rumbled like a volcano about to blow. I held a cup of tea in one hand, and a meat sandwich in the other.

At the moment I was in my house, working on the new room. It was early afternoon. Dream and Osrie1 had kindly been helping me build all morning, before Osrie1 got hungry and had to make an emergency trip to the Rising Sun Inn. Dream left a little later, saying he had to do other things.

At the moment, we were building the walls of the new room. We'd spent a lot of the morning putting bricks in place. The foundation was made out of cement, which was a mixture made from pulverized limestone, mingled with ash and heated thoroughly. It was used to bind bricks together. It was fairly easy to make, and could even be bought in the estate agent's shop.

Ever since the estate agent was killed, a new one had replaced him, and the new estate agent had made many differences. He'd started a special shop where building supplies could be bought individually, as well as the crates. He also sold cement in massive vats, which was very useful for me. The vats had been enchanted so when we'd finished with them they'd disappear and reappear in the estate agent's shop.

Recently, The Demon Clan had been put on trial and had been found guilty of many crimes, including murder, kidnap and treason. Apparently they'd been up to more than I'd thought they'd been up to.

I was still feeling resentful about my existence, but I realised it wasn't under my control and there was no point being upset over it. I had Dream Decay and Ninjamouse1 to thank for helping me realise that.

There'd been a search effort for the Noob Exterminators since their escape. Although they could be quite pathetic when they wanted to be, they were very strong and a menace to society. Sir Amik Varze was having a fit over it; the Falador murders made poor Sir Amik Varze quite paranoid, which was a sad reality.

I was still unsure about what I wanted my new room to be. A part of me wanted a kitchen so I could heal myself in my most grave times, but another part of me wanted a trophy room so I could display the things that encapsulated my past and the fights I'd won.

I still had the crystal ball Gypsy Aris had given me a while ago. I was captivated by it. I'd spent quite a lot of time admiring it, wondering what type of hidden qualities it possessed. It was worrying me that it was wanted by Master Samuel. I was concerned of the sort of things he could do with it. Well, for a start, he could remove some of the mist to use in his horrific-sounding potion. He could abuse some of its magical properties, as well as using it to help him further his own evil magic.

Ilookgood99's fairly new prophecy still plagued my thoughts. I'd scribbled down the prophecy (or what I remembered of it) for future reference. It went along the lines of: _Watch out, Mainiac97. A very bad thing is going to happen to you, sooner then you think. I can't tell what it is. There is a traitor among you, a traitor which will cause this disaster. A storm is coming, Mainiac97, and you aren't fully prepared for it. But I do see a dazzling end, a light in the midst of the darkness._ I wondered if a part of it had already come to pass. After all, Cedric WAS a traitor. But the disaster that Ilookgood99 spoke of didn't quite sound like the defeat of Mort and the end of the murders. The murders themselves couldn't be the disaster, because it was already happening at the time of the prophecy, and he said it was going to happen. I was confused, to say the least.

I finished off my meat sandwich and my tea, and I continued working. I was so tired I considered calling it a day and finishing work. I yawned, and rested my head on a nearby brick (which wasn't particularly comfortable). _Five minutes of sleep wouldn't hurt,_ I thought to myself. I yawned again, and fell asleep.

_Three men stood in a pitch-black room. One of the men was sitting down. "Who goes before me?" a man snarled. "Turn on the lights so I can see whoever dares enter my presence." A lantern was lit and the men could be seen well._

_The man that was sitting down was Master Samuel. His cleanly shaven head reflected the light, and his red robes fluttered around his legs in the draft. He sat behind a small wooden desk. His menacing eyes darted between the two men that stood in front of him. One of the two men was James, who twiddled his thumbs apprehensively. The other man was more of a young lad as opposed to a man. The young lad wore black platelegs and a black chainmail._

"_James, who is this boy that you bring before me?" Master Samuel barked. James gulped._

"_Sir, I am nothing but a messenger," the boy whispered. His youthful face was full of fear. "I have been sent here by order of the black knight commanders. One of their spies has informed us that Mainiac97 has the crystal ball." Master Samuel stood up, his face contorted with rage. His wrath could be felt floating in the air. _

"_So the hunt for that cursed gypsy has been fruitless!" he bellowed. The messenger curled up in fear. "When the white knights killed the gypsy I would have thought they would have claimed the crystal ball. How on earth did that…that… brat get his greasy little hands on it?"_

"_You could simply send something to kill him," James suggested. "Once he's dead we can acquire it or get someone to do it for us."_

"_You don't think I've been trying?" Master Samuel spat. "I've tried anything and everything to dispose of him! I was the one who meddled with the New Year firework display. I opened the portal earlier than it was meant to be open, hoping he would wander in and get himself killed. I hoped the raging fireballs would burn him to a crisp, but that bumbling witch Aggie spoilt it in her ignorance._

"_Not only that, but I specifically possessed the giant mole in the Falador gardens to destroy him. Ilookgood99 had to intervene, saving the brat's life. I've also been sending Evil Bob of ScapeRune subliminal messages. He captured Mainiac97 and some of his filthy little friends, as well as Ilookgood99. However, that egotistical freak had to get them out of there. Not to mention meddling around with the transformation patterns of Aaron the werewolf, making sure that all of his old training proved useless. I've been doing a lot in the past year or so, trying to kill that meddling little worm. He seems to be constantly protected."_

"_Are you responsible for the unnatural weather too?" James enquired. Master Samuel snorted._

"_No," he replied coldly. "Although I have the means to, why would I? It would be pointless. No, the bad weather is an effect of the brewing potion."_

"_Excuse me, sir," the messenger piped up, finally finding the courage to speak. "But, may I ask, why don't you approach Mainiac97 yourself and attack him?"_

"_Killing Mainiac97 myself would be the most conspicuous thing I could do at the moment," Master Samuel hissed. "If he dies suddenly, it would attract a lot of attention. The people that know of me would suspect me or my assistants instantly. But, if he is killed by an overgrown mole, or blown up by a loose firework, nobody would look deeper than that. I'm trying to stay in the dark, because this potion is the most important thing to me right now, and to have someone interfere in the brewing of it would destroy several years' worth of work. It was stupid of me to go gallivanting around in Varrock last year. Because of my idiotic actions I have raised awareness of my existence and my activities."_

"_So, how exactly are you going to get the crystal ball off Mainiac97?" James asked._

"_I'm going to have to take desperate action," Master Samuel grunted. "He having the ball has changed a lot of things. Messenger, go back to the black knight commanders and tell them that they need to inform their spy that it's a code red." The messenger's eyes widened. He stood up and rushed out of the dark room. Master Samuel's concerned frown turned into a look of glee. He chuckled. "Maybe this won't be such a bad thing. I didn't exactly want to do this so soon but it looks like I'll have to."_

I woke up, screaming. I felt my forehead only to feel a glazing of ice-cold sweat. I stood up, abandoning the house, and dived into the portal.

I flew through Falador towards Capablanca's house in a blind panic. This dream had scared me. Master Samuel was planning something terrible, and I had to tell everybody about it. Master Samuel had been hiding in the dark since last Halloween, and the fact that he was plotting something evil involving me horrified me. I was distracted when I ran head-first into someone's chest. I looked up and saw the kind smile of Haldir6.

"My old buddy!" he exclaimed joyfully. "I haven't seen you for ages and ages! How've you been?"

"Haldir6?" I questioned, staring into his smiling face. "What are you doing here? I thought you were busy with your job as a Glory Trooper commander."

"Yes, I am," he admitted. "I've come down here to update the white knights on Varrock's condition."

"How is Varrock holding up nowadays?" I asked curiously.

"Not good. Not good at all," he said sadly. "We've been attacked by zombies recently. It was a bad time to be attacked because we were still recovering economically from the Silverlight wars. A large part of Varrock has fallen into disrepair. We are constantly having problems with possessed rats, dark wizards from the stone circles, and very bad weather." Haldir6 went into more details into Varrock's condition, including the decrease in Glory Trooper staff, the rough people coming in and out of the city, and the general lack of enthusiasm. "On the plus side though, our new recruits have completed their training about a month ago and are on official Glory Trooper duty. When I say new recruits, I mean Ballbags32, Sin, Elite and a few others." He then laughed. "I shouldn't be telling you all of this stuff, because the information is really only for Sir Amik Varze's ears." I remembered why I rushed out of my home in the first place.

"I've got to go now," I said, shaking his hand. "It's been nice talking to you." I ran off, leaving a confused Haldir6 behind.

I was fast approaching Capablanca's house when I bumped into Dream Decay. He gave me a serious look with a hint of sadness lying underneath it.

"Dream!" I gasped. "I'm so glad to see you. I've had a vision, you see." I went into details about my dream. Dream listened patiently, keeping the same sombre expression. When I finished, Dream rubbed his eyes. He looked slightly tired.

"Mainiac97, could you come with me for a minute?" he enquired. "I think I can help you with your predicament. I can't explain at the moment. Where's the gypsy's crystal ball?"

"It's in my bank," I replied, nonplussed.

"Can you go and get it for me please? It could prove useful." I was bewildered, but I trusted Dream, so I went to the bank and withdrew the crystal ball. I returned to Dream. He took the ball off me. He gestured for me to follow him. I followed him obediently, still baffled.

He took me under the arch which led to the crossroad between Falador, Barbarian Village and Taverley. He took me up the path which led to Barbarian Village. I continued to follow him. We passed the dwarf cannons, and a few dwarves waved at us. I waved back, my face shining with bemusement. Up ahead I saw the wooden gates of Barbarian Village, but Dream took me to the left into a small group of trees. We passed the snow-covered mountain. We also passed a large hole with strange, large creatures that looked like ants coming in and out.

We passed a black knight which I eyed nervously. I tapped Dream on the shoulder and he turned around to face me. He looked depressed about something.

"Where are we going?" I asked mildly.

"You'll see," Dream replied, his gaze like stone. I shuddered. I trusted him, but I felt uncomfortable walking through this very dark and scary area. We continued deeper into the woods.

We finally stopped. I looked up. Right ahead, a castle constructed out of pitch-black bricks stood, tall and menacing. I was beginning to doubt Dream Decay for the first time in my life. Why had he brought me here? Surrounding the castle were black knights in shining dark armour. Red feathered emerged from the top, and they held black swords in their hands. Several walked forward at the sight of us. Dream, shivering, took what looked like a card with his name, his details and his picture on it from his pocket. He showed it to the black knights, looking ashamed.

"Oh, it's the spy," one black knight said. "You may enter. Who's your friend? He needs to show his card as well."

"This is Mainiac97," Dream murmured. Muttering rippled through the crowd of guards. Four stepped forward and grasped our arms. We were marched through the massive doors and into the castle itself.

We were guided through corridors made entirely from shiny black marble. Red velvet carpets covered the floor, while menacing chandeliers hung from the ceiling, gathering dust. We passed doors with plaques on them. The plaques read things like 'library', 'interrogation room' and 'armoury'. It was like an evil version of the White Knight Castle.

"What the hell is going on?" I hissed to Dream. "I heard them call you a spy. You have a lot of explaining to do."

"All will be revealed," he muttered.

We were taken to a small, dingy, dirty door guarded by two black knights.

"This is Mainiac97," one of the black knights holding my arm said. One of the black knights guarding the door nodded, and opened the door. We were taken into the room.

We were inside a massive corridor. This corridor had no carpets on the floor, or chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. This place was cold, uncomfortable and unwelcoming. Cells lined against both sides of the walls. Most of them were unoccupied, but a few of them had moaning people wearing ragged clothes inside. I struggled desperately, but no avail. We were taken down the corridor to the very end of it. An especially large cell was at the very end, and inside this cell was a person sitting in the corner. We were shoved inside this cell.

"Where's the orb?" one of the black knights demanded. Dream, looking close to tears, pulled the crystal ball from his pocket and handed it to the knight. .

"The commanders will be here shortly," the black knight giggled. "Thank you for your cooperation, Dream Decay. You have proven yourself useful. The commanders will be pleased." He slammed the dungeon door, trapping us.

The person in the shadowy corner stood up. The person was a woman with long, blonde hair. Her face was smudged with grime, and her eyes looked gaunt. Looking at her reminded me of the Herblore mage. She bounced up and jumped towards Dream.

"Emily!" Dream exclaimed happily. He took her in his arms, and they embraced. My eyes widened as a thought occurred to me. _Could this Emily possibly be the missing barmaid from the Rising Sun Inn?_ I thought, shocked. I was distracted as Dream let Emily go. I growled, and marched towards him. He opened his mouth, but before he could say anything I grabbed him by the neck and slammed him against the wall.

"What the hell are you playing at, Dream?" I bellowed. He gagged and his face turned purple. I let him go, and punched him full-out on the face. "First, you sweep me to this place without an explanation. Then you let those black knights trap us in this dungeon. To add insult to the injury, you go and give the gypsy's crystal ball to the black knights! I heard them call you spy, and they thanked you! If you don't give me an acceptable explanation right now, I will personally rip our guts out and feed them to Eek!" A tear came from Dream's eye.

"I do owe you an explanation," Dream whispered. "Well, here goes. I am a spy of the black knights." I gasped as it struck me. Dream Decay was a traitor. Back at the entrance of the castle I'd been in denial, but it was true. He'd been fooling me, my friends and everyone in general. He wasn't the caring friend I thought he was. Tears started welling up in my eyes. "But wait! There's more." I raised an eyebrow. What more did I have to know? My best friend was a traitor. What more could be said? I decided, in the end, to listen to him.

"I've had an absolutely awful past. I've done terrible things and I've met terrible people. Because of these things, I've made myself quite famous. Not famous, as in, RuneScape Rockers famous, or Easter Bunny famous. I can't really specify, sadly, but the black knights know me well.

"They were approached by a madman. I don't know much about this person, but he offered the black knights money and power beyond their wildest dreams. He must have been a powerful person, because they seemed quite intimidated by him. You may be wondering what he wanted in return. He wanted you. He wanted the black knights to acquire you through any means possible. Most importantly, he wanted you alive. So they began planning.

"They needed an especially talented person to lure you to the castle. They needed a spy, a person who could appear friendly while concealing a terrible interior. So they came looking for me. They had some background information on you from this madman, so they knew you currently lived in Falador, doing work for Sir Amik Varze.

"They found out that I was madly in love with Emily, so they decided to kidnap her. They found her at the Rising Sun Inn, and they used her. They threatened me that if I didn't do the spy work, they'd kill her." A tear dropped on the floor.

"So you pretended to be my friend," I growled. "You fooled me and all of my friends. You helped me with everything. You gained my trust!" I pulled out my olive-green book, and waved my friend's list in his face. I pointed to his name on the list. "You betrayed me!" I screamed. "You sold me out, and now because of you I'm going to be sold to some madman who wants me for goodness knows why!" There was silence for a whole minute as I boiled in my own rage. I now understood the dream I had several months ago, after Amy11 was saved from Madrey1 by Ninjamouse1.

"I didn't want to do it," Dream said dully. His voice seemed empty and lifeless. "Really now, you've been a really good friend. I genuinely wanted to be your friend."

"Then why did you lure me here?" I said, a little more kindly this time. "If we were friends, why did you doom me?"

"Have you ever been in love?" Dream asked quietly. I thought about Amy11. She was the most amazing girl I'd ever met. She was beautiful and she was kind. I nodded silently. "This girl you're in love with, would you do anything to keep her from harm's way?" I nodded again.

"Then you should be able to understand how I felt. I was torn between keeping my dignity and my conscience clean, or saving the woman I love." Dream put his arm around Emily and held her close. "Love is more powerful than anything else in the world. I feel absolutely awful for dooming you, I really do. But, if you've loved someone, you can understand how it would feel to lose your loved one. It's like having your soul torn in half. No, it's worse than that."

I sat down, fighting with myself. On one hand, Dream had sacrificed me to the black knights for selfish reasons. But on the other hand, how could I blame him for protecting the one he loves? I didn't know what to say. In the end, I came to a decision.

"I forgive you," I sighed. "I would have done the same. If you sacrifice your wholeheartedness you'll feel guilt but if you sacrifice love you'll die inside. It's not an easy decision to make." Dream grinned. He looked happier than I'd ever seen him look before. "I don't know if I'd do the same if it was a meat sandwich," I joked. Dream chuckled.

The moment was shattered when several black knights entered the room, followed by four very important-looking knights. These four knights wore gold-plated black knight armour. They didn't wear helmets, apart from one, who wore a gold-plated medium helm. This particular one stepped forward. He looked like the most important one.

"Greetings," he sneered. "We are the four black knight lords, sometimes referred to as 'the highest commanders', or occasionally 'the black thunderbolts'. Allow me to introduce us separately, starting with me. I am Roderick." I surveyed Roderick with fear. He used a large black battleaxe as a weapon. He hid his hair under his helmet. His face was pallid, and he had emerald-green eyes. "Here is Katrina." He gestured to a female near him. She had blood-red eyes, pitch-black hair, and held a black staff. She'd obviously changed her eyes using evil magic. She winked at me and Dream. "The identities of our other two commanders are unknown. We refer to them as Left and Right respectively." As I could see, they were both twins. They were both bald with brown goatees, and they both used black swords as weapons. One of them had the letter 'L' tattooed on his forehead, while the other one had the letter 'R' tattooed on his forehead. It made it easier to tell them apart, that was for sure. They stared at us with beetle-black eyes. A shiver ran down my spine as I made eye contact with one of them.

"Enough of my pleasantries, it's time to move on to business," Roderick said seriously. "What I'm about to explain to you will hopefully answer all of your questions."

"We are the masters of the black knights, as you may already know. There were once five of us but one died in battle. We're pretty well known among the land because of our history. We're a Zamorakian military order. We were official defenders of the Kingdom of Asgarnia for roughly 155 years many, many years ago, but now we're outcasts because of our violent nature and evil ideas. We battle against the white knights, trying to rid the world of their foolish laws, plans and beliefs. We four weren't always the leaders of the black knights. We used to be very powerful commanders but we've been put in charge since our previous leader's death.

"Recently, we were approached by a strange man who refused to name himself. He made us a very interesting offer. He said that he'd give us enough money and power to give us our previous glory back in exchange for one thing." Roderick grinned evilly at me. "He wanted you. He told us that if we didn't oblige, he'd burn our castle to the ground with a single sentence."

"That's impossible!" I argued. "The power needed to cast a spell of that proportion would take thousands of runes, and would drain the caster of his/her energy! Nobody's that powerful, excluding the gods!" Roderick curled his lip.

"That's exactly what I said," he said coldly. "But he recently acquired a special artefact that he called the God Rune. It looks like a normal rune, but holds the power of an infinite amount of every single rune. He told us that it wasn't easy to get, but he managed it. With this rune, he could cast any spell in existence and it wouldn't drain him of anything."

"But why doesn't he burn Falador to the ground with that rune?" I shouted. "He has the capability."

"He actually explained that to me," Roderick replied. "He said that one mispronunciation, one mistake, could cost him everything. With burning down our castle, it's fairly simple, and even if it went wrong, it wouldn't affect him. He didn't say any more on the subject, but he seemed pretty certain. Besides, he said that getting his hands on you from afar would take the fun out of it. He never explained why he wanted you, but his reasons don't sound very friendly.

"Anyway, as I was saying, we had no choice but to get you somehow. We looked in our records of spies we were familiar with, because none of our spies seemed to be good enough for luring you in here. So we found Dream here." He gestured towards Dream, who looked ashamed. "His past actions have made him one of the best people for the job. We forced him to work for us by using Emily." He also made a gesture towards Emily, who was scrunched up into a ball in Dream's arms. "We knew of their relationship, and we knew that he'd do anything to keep her from harm's way. So, we did what any decent Zamorakian organisation would do. We blackmailed Dream. Him being the spineless person he is, he used his cunning abilities to befriend you and convince you that he was a decent person. He abused your friendship to lure you here, and now we have you AND Gypsy Aris's curious crystal orb in our grasp."

A massive torrent of anger filled my stomach like wildfire. I was surprised steam wasn't coming from my nostrils. I didn't feel anger towards Dream because he had supplied his reasons for being a traitor. I felt like walking forward and punching Roderick in the nose and hopefully breaking it. I had to restrain myself, because doing so wouldn't help my situation a bit.

"Have you finished gloating?" I growled. Roderick laughed.

"Well, I've finished gloating, but I'm pretty sure the person who asked us to perform this task hasn't." He pulled a small purple orb from his pocket, and whispered into the orb, "He is here. Come quickly."

A massive purple bolt of lightning crashed into the ground near me, missing me by the width of a hair. I screamed and fell backwards, despite my cold-hard fury. I scrambled backwards as a massive red vortex began swirling above us. A red orb fell from the centre. An evil howling wind blew through the room, chilling my heart and filling my stomach with fear that froze the roaring inferno of anger and hate. The orb disappeared to reveal Master Samuel, flanked by James, the MCM and four dark wizards.

Master Samuel was three times and fearsome in real life than he was in the vision I had. The room suddenly seemed to glaciate in his presence. I shuddered in my shoes knowing that this man was after me specifically. His eyes rolled with insanity. His whole body seemed to glow with dark energy.

"We meet again," he whispered. "The last time we met, we were deep under the ground. I've had a whole year to boil in my rage. You probably know about the God Rune. I now have the power to cast spells so complex they would seem impossible at a glance. I just have to utter a single word and you will be roasted on the spot, but I want to kill you slowly and painfully for the defeats you've made me suffer. I've plotted many ways to obtain the power I want and need, but nothing seemed as effective as the God Rune. After slitting a few throats and studying in textbooks as old as this world itself, I found it. Now you shall die as I torture you to insanity and beyond!"

He threw his hand in the air and shouted a spell. I keeled over on the floor, screaming with agony. Every bone in my body was on fire, every single atom was roasting. I just wanted it to end, I just wanted to die. Master Samuel screamed with glee and mirth.

"This is my revenge!" he bellowed, spraying spit everywhere. Dream was attacking Master Samuel in an attempt to lift the torture he was inflicting upon me. Emily was sobbing, and even the black knight commanders looked disturbed.

In the end, Master Samuel obviously became bored of seeing me writhe on the floor, and lifted the spell. I stood up, my legs feeling like jelly. Every ounce of strength I had had been sapped from me.

"You've killed countless people," I muttered. "You've tortured, maimed, and robbed yourself to ultimate power. You could track down and kill any danger that would go against you, but instead you choose to torment me instead. I am nothing but a low-levelled adventurer staying in Falador, yet you find the need to ensure my death. Why?"

"There are many reasons," Master Samuel growled. "Revenge is one of them. But the main reason is you're too dangerous to my plans. Every prophecy I've heard, every seer I've approached, tells me of a young adventurer that has conquered me before with help and, if I'm not careful, will do it again.

"In the last year, I've done quite a lot. I've been gathering ingredients for the potion. I've been hunting down the God Rune. I've been gathering forces. But my top priority has been, not only making the black knights an ally, but to make sure you won't defeat me again. That is why I must kill you." He cast another torture spell on me, and I fell on the floor, thrashing around with pain. The spell subsided, and I was restricted by two black knights. Master Samuel began punching me in the gut, his face split into a berserk grin.

My fear was doused out by my previous anger. If Master Samuel killed me, he'd then go on to attack Falador and make sure that there was nobody that would be able to go against him. He'd then move on to taking over or destroying all of the other cities in RuneScape. With the God Rune, he could do anything.

I thought of all my old friends in Lumbridge. Duke Horacio. I still hadn't returned to him involving the mysterious talisman he'd given me ages ago. Farmer Fred, the kind man who'd taught me about farming. Father Uhrney, the eccentric old man who gave me the amulet that allowed me to talk to ghosts. I then thought of all of my friends in Varrock. I thought of Mark, battling pirates and sea bandits, and Aaron, redoing his werewolf transformation training. All of them would die if I couldn't stop Master Samuel. In one moment of pride, anger and fear, I pushed the black knights that were restricting me away, and I punched Master Samuel in the nose.

I heard a crack, and a hiss of pain. Blood dribbled from Master Samuel's nose. His eyes were wide open with surprise, but then they slanted. He muttered a spell, and blood stopped coming from his nose.

"That's it!" he spat. "You insolent little…" Lost for insults, he swore. "I'm ending you now! I've had enough joy in torturing you. It's time for you to get your comeuppance!" He muttered several horrible words, and a black ball appeared in his hand. It got bigger, and he threw it towards me. I tried to run, but the ball turned around and continued to follow me. I soon discovered it was useless trying to resist the inevitable. I screwed up my eyes, bracing myself for the end.

"NO!" Dream yelled. Before I could do anything to stop him, he jumped forward and the black ball hit him. He crumpled on the floor, and his eyes rolled upwards. His breath stopped, and I felt the life leave his body. Dream Decay was dead.

* * *

_So, whaddaya think? Several massive twists there. Please tell me your opinions on this chapter._

_A very special mention goes to Haseo the Terror of Death. We've been organising Dream (his character)'s death between us for a long time. This was all a part of our shared universe. We organised his betrayal, Emily's kidnapping, his death, and a bit more. For more info on his past and why the black knights wanted him especially, read Haseo's fanfiction 'The Sphere of Varrock', which begains a year before mine begins. Haseo, it's been an honour working with you buddy. _

_Just a side-note, I've made a new poll on my account which is about Mainiac's house. Please check it out when you have a second!_

_Another note, after much consideration, I've decided to delete my other story 'history of a tramp'. I realised recently that Charlie the tramp was actually a billionare, which kinda defeats the object of the story, lol. Besides, this story is taking up all of my attention. I haven't touched 'history of a tramp' since I uploaded it, which was months ago. I hope none of you are too angry. _

_Sorry for all the author notes. A lot of announcements have piled up since last chapter._

_Next time: "This is the calm before the storm..."_

_Until next time, toodles!  
_


	78. Chapter 78: Calm Before the Storm

_Hello, hello, hello, what's happenin' readers?_

_Just a small note to say I've reuploaded chapter 5 with edits done._

_If you spot any mistakes/typos in this chapter, please point them out to me so I can rectify them._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Jagex, RuneScape, or any of the RuneScape characters. All I own is the plot of this fanfiction and some of the characters in the story. I am not making a financial profit from this story._

_Enjoy!  
_

* * *

_**Chapter 78: Calm before the Storm**_

_No,_ I thought desperately. _This isn't happening. This can't have happened. Dream isn't dead. Master Samuel is just playing with my head._

I touched Dream on the cheek, and I felt how ice-cold he was. I realised Dream was really dead. He'd been my friend for several months, and he was a very good person. Even if he was a traitor, he was still a friend, and I was horrified to see his dead body lie in front of me. With a pang of ice-cold realisation, it struck me that denying it wouldn't help one bit. I'd have to face the truth. Tears started dripping down my face like tiny waterfalls. Grief struck me like a powerful sword. It immobilised me, froze my thoughts, and turned my logic into mush.

I stared at Master Samuel, enraged. He was standing there, gloating about his big victory and how I was going to die slowly and painfully. I felt an old monster reawaken in the depths of my soul. I sorely wished I had my skull sceptre at the moment so I would have a miniscule chance of smashing Master Samuel's skull in. He'd killed one of my best friends for absolutely no reason at all. Granted, I was his original target, but he didn't seem to care about Dream's sacrifice. He didn't value life one bit, unless it was his.

Screaming with fury, I unsheathed Silverlight. Three black knights approached me to hold me back, but I swung around in my anger and beheaded all three of them in one shot.

I ran forward, bellowing. Silverlight seemed to glow with some of its former glory. I elbowed Left and Right out of the way as they tried to stop me. I wanted Master Samuel to pay dearly of the pain he'd caused me, my friends and many others besides. He was a complete monster, and there was no chance of repentance. He'd proven to me how evil he was.

"Don't worry, Dream," I whispered. "You're safe now. I'll get this fiend back and I'll avenge your death, somehow." I pushed past the MCM and James, and raised my sword to strike Master Samuel. The MCM and James stepped forward to aid Master Samuel, but he put his hand up to signify that he wanted them to stop. He cackled.

"Act the hero all you want," he taunted. "You'll never beat me, not while I have the God Rune." Just as I was about to lower the sword into his face, he shouted a word, and I flew backwards into the wall.

I stood up, dusting myself off, glaring daggers at Master Samuel. I walked past Emily, who was kneeling on the floor, sobbing with loss and grief. I ran towards Master Samuel again, only to find myself back on the floor on the other side of the room, my muscles hurting and my bones aching.

I realised I couldn't fight Master Samuel when he had the God Rune. I wasn't interested in killing anybody else apart from Master Samuel; he was my main target. My only choice was to leave, inform the white knights about what had occurred, and then maybe something could be achieved. I picked up Dream's body and put it over my shoulder. He was very heavy, to say the least. I helped Emily up. Master Samuel eyed me suspiciously.

"We're going to escape from here," I murmured in her ear. "You'll have to cooperate with me. When I scream 'now', you need to run towards the door. If we can get out of here alive, we have a chance of avenging Dream's death." Emily nodded seriously, tears still trailing down her cheeks. I felt sympathy for her. I didn't want to think about how I'd feel if the love of my life died.

"NOW!" I screamed. We both ran towards the door, me a little slower because of the weight of Dream's body on my shoulder. Several black knights ran towards us. I muttered a bind spell under my breath, and one fell over, trapped in purple ropes. It caused a small distraction, and because of it we managed to get out of the dungeon door, and we ran down the dungeon corridor as fast as we could. We were closely pursued by many black knights. We were in the actual castle now, because red velvet carpets covered the floor, while the menacing chandeliers hung from the ceiling. We turned a corner, and ran up a flight of stairs.

"We're going to get lost!" Emily shouted. "I don't know my way out. I never went much further than the dungeons."

"As long as we distance ourselves between those knights, we'll be fine!" I shouted back. "Just run!"

We continued running through the castle aimlessly. We'd managed to escape from the group of black knights in the dungeon, but by now the odds were that the whole castle had been alerted of our presence. We continued until we reached a dead end. I was absolutely terrified. I was stuck in a castle, carrying around the dead body of my best friend, surrounded by enemies, with currently the most powerful man in the world not too far away.

We went to turn around, but we heard angry voices coming from the other end of the corridor. I saw a crowd of black knights running down the corridor. I looked around in desperation for some way of escape. I spotted a vent entrance nearby. It looked big enough for a person to fit in. I didn't like the aspect much, but I had no choice. I ripped the vent cover off, and ushered Emily inside. Grimacing, I pushed Dream's body inside, went in myself, and pushed Dream's body through the ventilation system.

Inside, it was hot, stuffy, and there barely any air to breathe. We sometimes passed grilles, which showed certain rooms. We passed a room full of spare armour. We passed cafeterias which were almost empty, because lunch had passed. We passed a room full of black knights chatting, relaxing and drinking tea.

We passed a certain grille and he heard the slimy voice of Master Samuel. We stopped, and peered through the grille.

Master Samuel, James, the MCM, several black knight commanders and the four black knight lords were sitting around a polished mahogany table, sipping water.

"Why did you let them escape?" I heard Roderick demand. "You let them slip straight out of our grasp, even when you had the means to easily stop them! Do you want us to fail?"

"Think about it," Master Samuel sneered. "When we attack Falador later on in the day, I don't want them unprepared. I want a challenge; I want to test the limits of this God Rune. What's the point burning down a city if there's going to be no effort involved in it whatsoever? How can I prove to the world that I am the ultimate, that not even the legion of the white knights can defeat me, if I don't make it more challenging? It'll be a challenge and a bit of fun for your warriors as well. I heard that the white knights are pushovers.

"I could very easily utter a word of death and kill him instantly, but there'd be no fun in that. I want him to die in as much pain as possible. No, let him escape. The next time we meet will truly be the end. I won't let him out of my grasp next time.

"I actually have a specific preference to the way I want him to die. I want to drop him off a tower on the White Knight Castle into the moat. I've been fantasising about it for a while, and the circumstances will be right when we meet later. His friends and his community will be going up in flames around him, his enemies will be triumphing, and he'll have hopelessness filling every vein in his body. What could be a better way to die?" He stared towards the vent, almost as if he knew we were there. I gulped nervously.

"But sir…" Roderick argued. Master Samuel put his hand up.

"No arguing," he snapped. "I know what I am doing. Now, prepare your troops. We'll march towards Falador later today! We'll crush the warriors, burn the community to ashes, and attack the city at its heart. That being Sir Amik Varze himself of course."

Everyone began leaving the room, and sooner or later only Master Samuel stood there.

"I know you're there, brat," he hissed. "So listen closely. I'll ensure that you get out of here safely, because I want to be the one to kill you. Run back to your white knights. Warn them about our planned attack, and hide behind their skirts. That's what you usually do. There's rarely been a moment when you haven't. When you defeated me in Varrock, you did it with the help of Silverlight and Ilookgood99. You didn't actually kill Mort the vampire. Aaron did. You seem to get the credit for everything, yet you rarely do anything. You get through life purely out of luck. Many have died trying to protect you: Sir Vant, countless soldiers, Gypsy Aris, and even Dream Decay. But I will ensure that the next time we meet you'll fight me purely out of skill, with no luck involved. Now run. Run as fast as your little legs can carry you, because mark my words, you'll want to distance yourself as much as you can the next time you meet me."

He started tapping his claw against the table, leaving small marks. "The storm approaches, stronger than ever," Master Samuel wheezed. "You are the one who is going to get caught in the eye of it." He began laughing manically. I was scared, so I gestured to Emily to continue going. She nodded, looking as terrified as me. She continued crawling through the vent system, and I followed her, pushing Dream's body.

We finally found an opening, and we came out in the corridor fairly near to the corridor that led to the main entrance of the castle. I remembered it from the menacing oil painting of a pure black horse with red eyes hanging on the wall. We found the main entrance, and went through. There was nobody guarding the castle. I realised all of the knights were probably either looking for me or purposely letting me escape on Roderick or Master Samuel's orders. I realised we must have spent ages in the castle.

We walked out of the small forest and appeared by Barbarian Village. While we walked back along the path which led to Falador, I realised how right Master Samuel was. I was a coward, always relying on other people to save my hide. It was probably my curse.

I was absolutely horrified at Master Samuel's newfound powers. With them, he could easily say a sentence or two and send the white knights into turmoil. I didn't know how I'd be able to defeat him, or even if I could. I'd probably have to rely on somebody else to protect me again. That was the last thing I wanted to do.

I also considered Ilookgood99's prophecy. _Watch out, Mainiac97. A very bad thing is going to happen to you, sooner then you think. I can't tell what it is. There is a traitor among you, a traitor which will cause this disaster. A storm is coming, Mainiac97, and you aren't fully prepared for it. But I do see a dazzling end, a light in the midst of the darkness. _I now understood some of the meaning behind the prophecy. Dream was obviously the traitor, unless somebody else was going to turn out to be a traitor. First Cedric, now Dream. I don't think I could be able to stand another betrayal. Dream's death and Master Samuel's return was probably a disaster enough.

I dreaded thinking about the attack that the black knights had planned. I'd already lived to see more than one major war. It sounded like this war was going to be the biggest one yet, even bigger than the Silverlight wars.

The white knights weren't enough in numbers to combat the black knights, Master Samuel AND any warriors Master Samuel had to offer. It sounded like Falador was going to come to an end. My bloodstream iced over at the aspect. I had a house, but I'd made so many friends in Falador. I'd grown to love the place and the community. I'd been living there for almost a year, and my heart would break if I saw it go up in flames.

Emily was still sobbing over the death of her loved one, who currently lay over my shoulder, dead as a doorstop. I patted her reassuringly, trying my best to comfort her. It must be a terrible experience, to lose someone that important to you. I was terribly saddened by Dream's death to the point of sobbing myself, but I couldn't sympathise with her because I didn't share a relationship with Dream to the same level as her.

We walked into Falador. The guards stared at us, alarmed. They walked forward.

"Mainiac97! Why are you…? What is the…? What in the name of…?" the guard sputtered.

"I'm going straight to Sir Amik Varze to explain," I told him calmly. "Falador is in great peril." The guard, looking bewildered, let us pass, glancing at Dream's body nervously.

I walked into the castle courtyard, getting a barrage of odd looks by knights. Some stopped me, demanding for an explanation, but I told them the same thing I told the guard, and they let me pass. I walked through the castle. I went up to Sir Amik Varze's door, and I knocked three times. I was told to enter, and I obliged.

Sir Amik Varze sat by his desk, his eyes widening at the sight that beheld him. He had two white knights nearby, and they both looked surprised.

"What the…?" Sir Amik Varze stammered. "Explain what's going on!" So I did. I explained about Dream luring me into the black knight's clutches, and I explained about his reasons for being a traitor. I explained what the black knights were up to. I explained about Emily, I explained about the God Rune, and I even described my encounter with the four black knight commanders/lords. I described to him the horrors of Master Samuel and his newfound powers. I explained Dream's sacrifice, I described our attempt at escape and Master Samuel's reasons for letting us go, and I told him about the planned attack later today. Towards the end, I was running out of breath, and Sir Amik Varze looked both astounded and frightened.

"The both of you have been through a lot today, Emily especially," Sir Amik Varze muttered. "I think you deserve a long rest after what you've been through. I also thank you for your warning about the planned assault later today. If Master Samuel and the black knights are as powerful as you say, we are going to need a lot of help. We can't take an army like that on alone." He gestured for the two other white knights to come closer. "Could the both of you possibly get seven knights please?" he asked kindly. The knights nodded, and ran off.

Ten minutes later, seven white knights entered, and waited in front of Sir Amik Varze expectantly. Sir Amik explained the problem briefly to the knights. Their eyes widened as he explained.

"I need one of you to go to Duke Horacio of Lumbridge, explain the situation, and ask for some help," Sir Amik Varze commanded. "I need someone else to do the same with the wizard's tower, and I need another person to do the same with the Glory Troopers and Varrock. I need someone to go to the house of Capablanca and ask him to summon everyone that is living his house here. I need someone to carry the body of Dream Decay and keep it safe so we can give the poor fellow a proper burial if Falador survives the attack. Also, could someone get me a glass of water? All of this commanding and organising is stressful work." Everyone rushed off to do their assigned tasks. One knight remained, waiting for Sir Amik to assign him a task. "I need you to stay here and look over Emily and Mainiac97 while I go off to attend to other business. Could you possibly go and get them some food and drink please? I'll stay here for a second longer to finish some paperwork, and when you get back I'll leave. I have an army to organise." The knight nodded, and rushed off. He came back ten minutes later, holding a plate piled with meat sandwiches and a massive jug filled with flavoured water. Sir Amik Varze gave us a nod, and left.

In the half an hour he was gone, we ate our food, plagued by thoughts of war, death and bloodshed. We finished the plate of food and the jug of water just as Sir Amik Varze returned from his business. He thanked the knight who was watching over us.

In the next hour or so, important-looking people came in and out of the office. A commander of the Lumbridge army came to visit the office to tell Sir Amik Varze that his backup soldiers had arrived and that they were ready for battle. We were visited by a commander of the Varrock army, who told Sir Amik Varze exactly the same thing. The Glory Trooper commanders (Haldir6, Haru axe-man and Creator, with Aubury leading them) came, said the same thing, and greeted me cordially. All of the people in our group came, were told of the happenings, and had been asked to gather locals who were willing to battle. All the other citizens were evacuated to Rimmington, Draynor, Lumbridge and Port Sarim.

By far, the most interesting visit came from Sedridor, head of the wizard's tower.

"Hello Sir Amik Varze," Sedridor said, bowing his head slightly. "I come here to inform you that some of our battle wizards have joined all the other soldiers, and that they are ready for battle."

"Thank you," Sir Amik Varze smiled. Sedridor turned to leave, but he spotted me, and his face broke into a massive grin.

"Well, look who we have here," he said. "It's my old friend. How are things going?" I raised an eyebrow, and Sedridor laughed. "What a stupid question. So, how are your feelings about this war?"

"I don't feel very optimistic," I sighed. "Especially since Master Samuel has the God Rune."

"Yes, I heard," Sedridor frowned. "It's very distressing. If I had that rune, I wouldn't have to focus on my project any more."

"What do you mean?" I enquired.

"Well, it's a pretty long story," Sedridor explained. "You see, about thirty years ago, during my research, I discovered a spell. This spell is an ancient spell, and the caster has to be an extremely powerful person. This spell completely reshapes the world. It gives you control over everything. If I did cast this spell, I could destroy evil, I could reshape the wilderness, and I could do anything and everything. I would be a god. Not that I want to be a god, but I want to help the world. I could give the spell to someone else, like an elder magician in Yanille. I don't want to abuse the spell.

"But this spell is an extremely complicated spell, and it is such a long spell it takes up an entire book. I found a pretty large portion of the book during my research, but there was a lot missing. I've spent the last thirty years or so looking for the missing pages, or sending people on quests to find them. I have all of it, except for one page. I've spent countless hours slaving over this book, trying to figure out what goes in the missing page. Plus, a lot of it is dated, and for it to work in today's environment I needed to make some edits. That's what I needed the research on the talisman you showed me for. It could answer questions involving rune stones, which would in turn help me with finishing the spell.

"I also need a countless amount of runes and a limitless supply of energy. It needs so much power that if I tried to use a staff, the staff would burn to ashes with the pressure. So I've been saving up millions upon millions of runes, one by one. It still isn't enough, and for there to be enough I'd need to keep saving constantly for the next ten years. That's why the God Rune would be useful. It would offer me all the energy I need for the spell. It would probably offer me even more answers to all of the questions involving rune stones and their powers."

I nodded, awestruck at the sheer power of this spell, and how much devotion Sedridor had shown to finishing it. He was a good person to want to help the world at such a rate, and be willing to give up all his time, energy and countless runes.

"That reminds me, how goes your quest?" queried Sedridor.

"Oh," I gasped. "I remember the quest. Yes, I have the research, but I completely forgot about giving it to you. I'll go get it now."

"OK," Sedridor chuckled. "No worries."

I ran to the bank as fast as I could, and I removed the research Aubury had given me a while ago. While I was there, I scooped up the four coloured beads I was meant to give to the old man at the top of the wizard's tower. I ran back to the castle, and back into Sir Amik Varze's room.

I gave him the notes and the beads. He looked confused as I handed him the beads, so I explained. He nodded curtly.

"I'll pass them on for you," he said gratefully. "I'm pretty sure old Mizgog will be happy to get these back. As for the notes, thank you very much." After reading through them, Sedridor nodded. "These are acceptable. I can work with these. I may as well give you your quest scroll now." A scroll materialised in his hand, and he gave it to me. It read:

_Congratulations! You have completed Rune Mysteries! You have earned:_

_1 quest point_

_150 magic experience_

_The ability to craft runes_

_Complete access to the wizard's tower_

I thanked Sedridor. Just as we were starting a conversation about the war, the black knights and Master Samuel, Sir Amik Varze ran in and told us to prepare ourselves. Sedridor was going to battle in the front line, and Sir Amik Varze invited me to join the front line as well. Emily was told she could evacuate Falador, stay in the castle, or join in the battle. Emily decided to evacuate, considering she'd just spent a long time as a prisoner in the black knight castle and was very weak as a result.

Sir Amik Varze handed me some white knight armour as I left. The armour consisted of platelegs, a platebody, a med helmet, and spiky steel white gloves.

"That steel armour you are now wearing won't protect you very well from the attacks of Master Samuel and his army," Sir Amik Varze mumbled under his breath. "I am giving you permission to wear our armour for the duration of the battle." I shook his hand so violently it almost came off and I thanked him profusely. I put my steel armour in my bag, and wore the white knight armour proudly.

A cold chill swept over me as we stepped out of the castle. Everything seemed eerily quiet. The sky was grey and forbidding. Several white knights, along with Jamie and Capablanca, met us by the doors. We walked out of the courtyard across the bridge.

"This must be the calm before the storm," Capablanca said in a hushed tone. Fear echoed in his voice. I silently agreed with him. Everything seemed too quiet to be natural, especially before a war.

We were greeted by a very powerful sight. Thousands upon thousands of warriors waited in the empty streets of Falador, wearing different outfits and costumes. The group nearest the entrance where Master Samuel's army would come from were obviously the front line. They consisted of Haldir6, Slinky, Aubury, Haru, Creator, Osrie1, Amy11, and several important-looking people from the Varrock, Lumbridge and wizard tower armies respectively. Our group ran forward to join them.

We waited for a long time. It felt like hours were passing. Well, to be completely honest, hours were probably genuinely passing. As every second passed by, the army grew more apprehensive and restless. As time passed, more soldiers and more backup arrived.

A thought occurred to me. What if Master Samuel had set us all up? What if he'd been lying and he was currently laughing at us? Just as I turned to share this thought with somebody else, someone roared in the distance. More people roared. Everybody stiffened up instantly. A white knight messenger ran past us to investigate. A few minutes later, he ran back, looking flustered and excited.

"It's the dwarves," he spluttered. "They're attacking the army, and they're trying their best to delay the army as much as they can. They're trying their best to gain us time."

"That's excellent!" Sir Amik Varze exclaimed. "In the time they've gained us, more soldiers have arrived and our chances of success have improved drastically." He was interrupted by a shuddering sound of what sounded like millions of footsteps. My heart skipped a beat.

They were coming.

* * *

_Well, how's that for a cliffhanger?_

_That brings up another question. In your opinion, which cliffhanger was the best cliffhanger in the story? Please let me know in a review!_

_Once again, credit goes to Haseo the Terror of Death for our shared universe, which concluded in the last chapter. He's an amazing author, so when you have a second please check him out if you haven't already!  
_

_Until next time, toodles!  
_


	79. Chapter 79: The Sea of Sorrow

_Hello, hello, hello, what's happenin' readers?_

_Just a quick note to say that chapter 6 has been reuploaded along with this chapter. Also, I've re-read this several times to check for typos, but some may still remain. If you spot any, please tell me about them so I can fix them.  
_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Jagex, RuneScape, or any of the RuneScape characters. All I own is the plot of this fanfiction and some of the characters in the story. I am not making a financial profit from this story._

_Anyway, enjoy yourselves!  
_

* * *

_**Chapter 79: The Sea of Sorrow**_

The footsteps were approaching, slow, heavy, and rhythmic. They sounded like claps of thunder. Ilookgood99's words echoed in my head. _A storm is coming. _I finally understood some of the meaning behind his words.

There was a moment's silence, and suddenly the whole Falador wall collapsed. Bricks, dust and debris rained down on the city. A massive army stood behind what remained of the wall. The army mainly consisted of black knights, dark wizards, and possessed creatures (rats, skeletons, zombies, ghosts). The very front of the army consisted of the Black Guard. The air was filled with roaring, shouting, chanting, screeching, and moaning. It was a terrible orchestra of death and despair.

At the very front, the four black knight lords stood, leering at us. Master Samuel stood in front of them. He muttered a spell, and floated above all of the warriors.

"SILENCE!" Master Samuel bellowed. The whole army fell silent instantly. "I speak now to all of those who go against me. I believe, before I completely destroy your city, you need to know the reasons for me doing so.

"Many, many years ago, I was nothing but a chaos monk living deep in the wilderness in the chaos temple. I grew to become the leader of the chaos temple, but I wanted more. I was a power-hungry person, and I wanted more, more and more.

"Then one day, Zamorak granted my request. He spoke to me. He informed me of a particular potion that would achieve more than anybody could even dream about. I shall not tell you what the potion's final effect is, but I tell you this. It was quite a menacing potion, and my monks were reluctant at first to help me make it. After a little bit of…convincing, they agreed to help me. That was how the Jury of Death was formed. But now I don't need the Jury of Death. I still contact them when I need help making a decision, but altogether I don't really need them any more.

"Zamorak blessed me with an ancient book which contains many horrible potion recipes and many evil spells, including the recipe to this potion. That recipe alone takes up a quarter of the book, and I can assure you it is quite a thick book. I learnt all of the recipes and potions by heart, and I even shared one of them with all of my supporters. That spell is now known as the bind of pain. I also learned how to possess animals through this book. As the years passed, I gained the support of the dark wizards, all of the chaos monks worldwide, and more.

"One side-effect of the potion being brewed was the change in weather. This began making people suspicious. I decided to begin scaring people and creating suspicion to foreshadow the awesome effects of the potion, so I began possessing creatures at a massive scale. Besides, it's all a part of my massive plan. To combat the amount of odd events and possessed creatures, the Glory Troopers were formed.

"But today, I shall collapse the organisation that was created to stop me. I have many enemies here that will die today. With the amount of power I've gained from the God Rune, I will collapse Falador and then I shall move on to other main cities that could be a threat to me and my plans." Master Samuel muttered a spell, and a white knight flew towards him. He grabbed the knight by the neck and crushed it in his vice-like grasp. The knight fell by his feet, dead.

"A storm has been approaching for a while, and we've barely scratched the surface! I shall crush you all, in the name of power, darkness and Zamorak himself!" Master Samuel yelled. His army let off an ear-splitting roar that shook the ground below me.

I didn't feel naïve bravery and the need to fight any more. I felt like running, and hiding, and crying. In the words of Master Samuel himself, I felt like 'hiding behind the skirts of greater men'. But I remembered my promise to Dream that I would make Master Samuel pay for his crimes, and my fear evaporated into thin air.

Everyone ran forward, and the two armies collided. The first few dying screams could be heard. A black knight ran towards me, his sword held in front of him. I swung around, and I elbowed him in the face. He fell backwards, and I sent Silverlight through his chest. He crumpled on the floor, and if that didn't kill him, he got trampled to death by a crowd of charging knights.

The true gore began then. All that could be heard was screaming, roaring, crying, slicing, and the clanging of swords. I bounced around, avoiding blows, and slashing people with Silverlight. The battle seemed to spin around me with a mixture of red, white, black and blue colours. I began feeling disoriented as I tried to swim through the sea of hate, bloodshed and battle. I decided that the battle would be described as the Sea of Sorrow, because that's what it felt like. The whole place now smelt like blood and metal. It made me sick to the bone. This was the biggest battle I'd ever encountered. Even the battles described in the epics and books I'd read couldn't compare to this.

I heard the terrible sound of a motorbike. I turned around, and I saw the Black Fly, the Pink Butterfly, the Brown Beetle and the Silver Wasp driving around on their motorbikes, crushing random warriors from both sides. They must have managed to escape their prison in the confusion of the battle.

They seemed to be relishing in the bloodshed. They didn't seem to care who they killed, as long as they contributed in some way. I ducked as they flew over my head, breaking the skulls of several warriors on the way.

The battle wore on for at least an hour. I had a particularly nasty encounter with a zombie. Moaning, with filthy, ragged clothes, and pale, bloodless skin, zombies were living nightmares. This zombie managed to get a hold of my arm and tear strips of flesh off it. I managed to send it flying backwards into the Sea of Sorrow before anything worse could happen to me.

After many other similar encounters with an array of creatures, the dark wizards began targeting me. I was hit by a massive array of painful spells. I just barely managed to avoid getting hit by a bind of pain. Just as a dark wizard grabbed hold of my neck and began muttering a deadly curse, Creator came from behind and kicked the dark wizard in the stomach. He keeled over, gasping for breath. This gave me enough time to kill him. I thanked Creator.

I had no choice but to fight and kill. If I didn't, I would lose my life. I didn't really want to die at the moment. I wanted to avenge Dream Decay's death before then. There was no option but to slice, dice and maim my way through the battle, otherwise I'd get sucked down under. It was a simple choice: kill or be killed. War was truly the worst thing a person could go through. I was injured beyond description already.

If there was anything that was difficult to fight, that was the Black Guard. Nothing could stand in their way. I hadn't battled a member of the Black Guard for a while, but the memory of them stuck in my head like glue. I had a flashback of the first time I saw them.

"_The Black Guards wore shiny black armour. Black plate legs, black plate bodies, black medium helmets were only some of the armour they wore. The skin that was visible was a charred, fleshy colour, and their eyes were completely red. They held long black sticks with a hole in the end, with a pipe that connected to a shiny metal bag on their back. In shiny leather black belts they had black swords, black clubs and a black, cracked stone rune with a large red button on it."_

Nothing could combat them. If anybody even tried, they'd be doused with flames and would be roasted alive. I was attacked by a member of the Black Guard at one point. I escaped, barely alive.

I was surprised to be alive at that moment. I'd evaded death so many times since the war started that me being alive was a miracle. I turned around and saw that our defences had been breached. The White Knight Castle was under attack!

I bumped into the last person I wanted to see at that moment: Madrey1. He curled his lip down at me.

"Well, isn't it nice to see you today, young noob?" he growled. "In the confusion of the castle being attacked, I managed to slip out of my prison cell. The other two are currently taking advantage of the war by looting the shops. I thought I'd come now and get my revenge."

"Now is not the time or the place," I yelled. "My friends are all in danger, and I need to end the mess I started. Get out of my way now. I haven't got the time to be dealing with people like you."

"What are you going to do about it?" Madrey1 taunted. "There's nothing you can do about your situation. I'm not budging."

"Fine," I sighed. I knew I couldn't beat him, but I could try, couldn't I?

Madrey1 punched me repeatedly in the stomach. I was in a horrible amount of pain, but I couldn't show it. My arm was almost cut off as he swung his sword downward. Instead, it left a large red mark. I hissed in pain, tears dripping down my cheeks. I really felt like collapsing and weeping, but I couldn't show weakness. Serenity was the key to true strength.

"Why aren't you hurt?" Madrey1 demanded. He punched me twice on the face, and I felt a black eye form. That was the last straw.

I murmured a fire spell under my breath, and before Madrey1 could do anything else, a handful of fire went in his face. He stumbled, screaming as his eyes were scorched. I kicked him in the crotch, and he fell backwards, sobbing.

"Ever heard of something called a cup?" I smirked. Madrey1 moaned. I whacked him repeatedly in the face until his nose had been reduced to a bloody pulp. I grabbed his helmet, and I threw it in the Sea of Sorrow.

"NO! NO! NOT AGAIN!" Madrey1 screamed, and he pounced after it. He was swept away by the battle. I was dumbstruck. I'd managed to defeat Madrey1 without getting harmed myself! But I couldn't ponder on my victory. I had to go.

I was scanning the Sea of Sorrow for any sign of Master Samuel, but I saw nothing. This surprised me. I was expecting Master Samuel to be in the thick of battle, but I couldn't see him anywhere. I realised he was probably at the castle, trying to find Sir Amik Varze. I managed to get to the bridge with nothing more than a few scratches. I sprinted across the bridge and ran through the door to be greeted by a terrible sight.

A smaller war was happening in the courtyard. Jamie, Capablanca, Slinky, Osrie1, and Amy11 were fighting off the four black knight lords, James, and some other dark wizards. There were two Mysterious Cloaked Men! My jaw almost dropped at the sight. They both approached me, laughing. They both grabbed my arms, and dragged me towards James.

"Hello there," James tormented. "As you may be able to see, I've used my cloning potion on our friend here. I had to tweak it slightly, otherwise the clone would be a complete opposite, but now Master Samuel has two powerhouses. I'm considering making more so we have a personal army of our own.

"I don't know why your army are trying. They have no hope against us, not while we have Master Samuel as a leader. He has many, many plans. I'm so tempted to kill you at the moment, but I honestly can't. If I did, Master Samuel would be furious. I'll leave you go now. You can run, you can hide, you can cower, you can cry, but when Master Samuel finds you, you are dead."

The MCM's let me go, and the four black knight lords saw me and surrounded me. I felt really intimidated.

"Let's get you ready for Samuel, shall we?" Roderick sneered. Hyperventilating, I ran inside the castle and up a flight of stairs. I heard Roderick, Katrina, Left and Right pursue me.

After practically flying through the castle, I found the longest flight of stairs in the castle that led to the tallest tower. My thoughts were clouded with fear and panic, and at the time I thought that if I ran up there I'd probably be able to flee from the bloodthirsty lords. So that's what I did. I began my climb to the top.

Gasping for air, I ran up the stairs two at a time. I couldn't stop, or the consequences would be dire. If I stopped, even for a moment, I would die. I'd come to terms with the fact that I would die at some point, but had that point arrived? I heard a taunting cackle from below. Panting, I forced myself to go up those stairs further.

I finally arrived at the top. I had an excellent view of the whole of Falador. But what I saw was not the beautiful marble construction I'd grown to love. Instead, I saw blood, gore, and fighting. I saw a lot of fighting. I could hear roars of rage, screams of pain, and the sound of death in general. The air was thick with the scent of blood.

I was distracted as I felt a heavy blow to my shoulder. I turned around, only to be faced with the evil grin of Roderick.

"Coming up here is probably the worst mistake you'll ever make," Roderick taunted. He was flanked by the other lords. He let of a loud, high-pitched whistle which filled my head with dread for some reason. The battle stopped for a split second as the ear-piercing whistle was heard across the city, before continuing.

I tried my best to fight off the lords, but it was hopeless. They avoided every single blow I had to offer. Fighting a cocky lump of muscle like Madrey1 was very different to fighting four very experienced people. My body was plastered with cuts, bruises and injuries in general. My bones felt rattled, my muscles felt stretched, and any resistance I had was about to crumble.

Just as I was about to give up and fall into their mercy, a shadow fell over us. The mouths of the four commanders fell open. I turned around, and I was faced with the massive white dragon that had saved my life countless times before. I felt like crying out with joy. We were safe. The man on the white dragon smiled kindly down at me, and his gaze hardened as he saw the four lords.

They howled with alarm, and tried going back down the stairs. Filled with a newfound strength, I pushed through them and blocked their path. I managed to delay them enough for the dragon to grab them with its claws. Roderick and Katrina managed to escape and push past me, but Left and Right weren't so lucky. With a single movement, they were thrown into the dragon's mouth. After some crunching and muffled screaming, the dragon gulped, and Left and Right were no more.

The man on the white dragon dismounted, and walked towards me. He wore his usual white robes, with the 'god sword' strapped to his back. He shook my hand warmly.

"Hello," he smiled. "My name is Ray, and my dragon here has been aptly named Hope. It's nice to finally meet you, Mainiac97."

"I can't thank you enough," I beamed, crushing Ray in a bear hug. "You've saved my life more times then I care to remember. You saved me on Tutorial Island. You saved me from the wrath of the three-headed dragon. Honestly, I can't express how grateful I am to you."

"I, nor my dragon, saved you," Ray admitted. "It was Saradomin working inside of me. I have been chosen by him. I can sense any danger, and I can rectify any problems. I was called to start the Glory Troopers because Saradomin told me it would save many, many lives. I was blessed with Hope here, as well as the god sword, so I may further my goal of making the world a more peaceful place."

"Are you able to defeat Master Samuel?" I enquired.

"I don't know," Ray said. "I can try my best. Master Samuel's weakness is his logic. When you put your heart and soul into supporting Zamorak, it clouds your logic. If you try and pinpoint Master Samuel's exact weak points, you could triumph over him."

"Is that so?" someone snarled from above us. We looked up, and we saw Master Samuel. He was flying in the air on some sort of terrible horse-like creature. It was a normal horse, except it had been mutated. It had red eyes, black fur, and had massive leathery wings. It was constantly making some type of wheezing sound that didn't sound natural.

"Master Samuel!" Ray bellowed. He mounted his dragon, which flew upwards with a roar. Master Samuel, with a single movement of his hand, let of a large red beam. This beam hit Hope the dragon, who was sent spiralling towards the ground. A thunderous crash could be heard as the dragon collided with a house in Falador.

Master Samuel, on his mutated horse, flew towards me. Any hope I had left had fallen to the ground along with Ray. I gulped. There was nobody else here except me and Master Samuel. I couldn't run, I couldn't hide, not any more. The final fight had arrived.

* * *

_..and that concludes chapter 79! I hope you enjoyed it. I hope you'll find the next chapter to be especially...epic. My question to you in this chapter is, simply, what's your opinion on the war, the MCM's cloning, Ray, and master Samuel himself? Please tell me your views!  
_

_In this chapter, you may have spotted the prologue I included in chapter 1. If you can specifically find it, you deserve a cyber-cookie with extra HTML sprinkles._

_Next time: it is both the beginning and the end. It is the long-awaited final showdown. The final fight has arrived._

_Until next time, toodles!  
_


	80. Chapter 80: The Final Fight

_Hello, hello, hello, what's happenin' readers?_

_Here it is. The big one. The final fight. I've been preparing this for a while, so I hope you enjoy it. _

_Just a quick note, I've re-uploaded chapter 7 alongside the uploading of this chapter. Also, as usual, if you spot mistakes/typos that I overlooked in the editing process, then please point them out to me. Thank you._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Jagex, RuneScape, or any of the RuneScape characters. All I own is the plot of this fanfiction and some of the characters in the story. I am not making a financial profit from this story._

* * *

_**Chapter 80: The Final Fight**_

_Master Samuel, on his mutated horse, flew towards me. Any hope I had left had fallen to the ground along with Ray. I gulped. There was nobody else here except me and Master Samuel. I couldn't run, I couldn't hide, not any more. The final fight had arrived._

Master Samuel grabbed me by the scruff of the neck. He flew back upwards. I struggled desperately, screaming for help. Master Samuel shook me violently and punched me in the stomach to silence me. Master Samuel then did a most awful thing.

With a flick of his hand, the whole castle collapsed, minus a few towers. My jaw fell open as I saw the magnificent building crumble to the floor. The castle held such a high place in my heart, and to see it fall to the floor broke my already fragile heart. A tear rolled down my cheek, and I heard screams of despair come from the battle. Master Samuel was grinning evilly, like the lunatic he was.

He flicked his hand again, and a massive web of binds materialised between the surviving towers. Colossal lumps of brick and stone had become snagged in the web. Master Samuel threw me into the web with the force of a firework.

I was lost in the sea of purple binds. I forced myself through the ropes, dazed, disorientated and very angry. I found a lump of rock to cling onto. I climbed onto the rock. I was at the top of the web.

The sight of the destroyed castle was one of the most awful things I had ever seen, and I'd seen many awful things. I'd seen people ripped apart. I'd seen the life leave people's eyes. I'd even seen gruesome torture take place. But none of it compared to seeing a building as large and beautiful as the White Knight Castle fall to the ground.

Something large and solid hit my back. I collapsed in agony. Master Samuel stood over me, smirking.

"Mainiac97," he murmured. "I pity you and your childish ignorance. You believe you can stand up to me. You believe you can defeat me. But you are a naïve young man to think so." I mustered the strength and the bravery to stand up and face him.

"Maybe I can't defeat you," I growled. "But I can die trying. The only reason you are currently so powerful is because of the God Rune."

Master Samuel snickered. He grabbed me by the neck and began squeezing. I felt the breath leave me very quickly. I was choking. I couldn't move. I couldn't fight. I tried to pry his fingers off but he was too strong. Master Samuel began laughing madly.

"You're dying," he giggled. "Finally, I am going to be rid of you forever." I hung sadly. I couldn't survive for much longer. I felt the world around me fade, and tears began falling down my cheeks thick and fast. I was going to die. That aspect didn't frighten me much, though. I wasn't scared of death. What scared me was that Master Samuel would go on and destroy Falador, then try and take over RuneScape. I sighed, and I could almost feel the life slip from my body. I hung in Master Samuel's grip, almost completely dead. The last thing I heard before I died was Master Samuel's cry of victory.

_Where am I…?_ I thought blearily. I couldn't bear to open my eyes. I knew I was currently dead, but at the same time I felt perfectly alive. I managed to open one eye slightly, but all I saw was darkness. I mustered the confidence to open both eyes wide, and I couldn't see anything. I was floating in darkness. _So this is death,_ I thought calmly. Then I remembered Master Samuel and Falador. They were out of my reach now. I roared in mental torture, knowing I couldn't help them. What I would give to see one comforting face, somebody I knew, even if it was Master Samuel!

"Don't be alarmed," I heard a calm voice say. I turned around, and I saw Death, the harvester of souls. He still wore his dusty black cloak. He held his famous scythe, and if he had facial features I could tell that he would currently be grimacing. I was almost glad to see him. He was a comforting presence who could answer all my questions. "We've met before, Mainiac97, but, just in case you do not remember me, I am Death. I am here to inform you that you are dead. Your soul has been separated from your body. I am very, very sorry."

"I remember you," I sighed. "But where am I?"

"This is what I call the Calm Space," Death told me. "But it really hasn't got a name. It's a completely empty space. You are floating in literally nothing. This place was created so people who died could have time to gather their thoughts and calm down. It gives me time to explain some things to them. This is where people make the biggest decision of their lives (or their afterlives).

"This decision is simple. You can stay here for as long as you like, or you can move on. Once you're ready, you can go on to the world beyond. Some people are never ready, and stay here for eternity. I can't force people to stay or go on. If you explore a little, you could find some of these people either waiting for their loved ones to die, or staying. But there is no going back at all. You're dead now, and you can never return back to life."

"How can you be completely sure that I am dead?" I questioned. Death pulled out a massive thick book from his cloak, and gestured to it with his skeletal hands.

"This book lists every single person who is due to die today," Death informed me. "It is especially thick today because of the war that is going on in Falador. It tells me the exact time of death, down to the millisecond, so I know when to find them and harvest them. Let me find your name on the list." He flicked through the book casually. He was shaking his head for some reason. He put the book back in his robes.

"This is strange," he said. He muttered a spell, and the book was gone. "You are not meant to be dead right now. You should still be warring, not up here. I don't understand this. This never happens. You are a strange person, Mainiac97. The oddest things happen to you."

"Does that mean I can go back to RuneScape now?" I asked excitedly.

"I'm not sure," Death wondered, scratching his head (or his skull). "This puts me in an awkward position. I am not allowed to let someone go onto the world beyond before they are destined to. At the same time, though, I can't put a harvested soul back into their body, considering I cut the bonds. I'd have to re-tie you, and I've never done that before." Death paced backwards and forwards. I watched him nervously.

"Well, I have two options here," Death finally explained. "I can do a wicked thing and abandon you. I could ensure that you can't go forward, and leave you here forever. But that could be considered bending rules, because I'm not really supposed to have a say in a person's fate. Or I could ask the gods, but I doubt they'll like being disturbed." I opened my mouth to say something, but he interrupted me. "I can't bring myself to be cruel enough to leave you. I'll speak to the gods. Wait right here." Death suddenly disappeared.

I was barely coping with the fact that I'd just died, let alone that I wasn't meant to be dead at that moment. The whole thing confused me. I never expected someone as smart and as powerful as Death to get stuck like this. I didn't know Death had the means to communicate with the gods in person! I didn't even know Death had fears! He was obviously scared of the gods to be so reluctant to seek advice from them. I hoped that, somehow, I could return.

To be honest, I expected the afterlife to be a little more…different. I didn't really know what I expected. I just wasn't expecting the Calm Space, choices, and big books. I was expecting to go straight to the world beyond, not having to dawdle here. But I suppose the whole design of the afterlife worked for everyone.

I pondered these thoughts, and shortly Death returned.

"I have some good news and some bad news for you," Death announced. "The good news is the gods have decided to make you an exception. They've allowed you to go back to RuneScape!" I yelled with joy and jumped up and down. I gave Death a bear hug while he stood there awkwardly. For me, this meant a second chance! "The bad news is the gods have given you one condition: you will have to sign an agreement that says that you will never speak of these events to anybody on RuneScape. Is that OK?"

I shrugged, and nodded. I was expecting the bad news to be worse. It was a decent price to pay in exchange for life on RuneScape again! Death clicked his fingers, and a piece of paper and a quill materialised in his hand. He handed it to me, and pointed at where to sign. I hesitated, read the material, and signed. Death took the paper back, and it disappeared.

After a minute of silence, Death spoke. "Are you ready to go now?" Death enquired. I nodded slowly. Death stepped forward, and took hold of my arm with his bony hand. I shivered. Suddenly, I felt my eyes go droopy. No matter how much I tried to keep them open, they kept closing. I felt sleepy. With a yawn, my eyes closed, and I fell into a deep sleep.

I woke up abruptly. I scanned my surroundings briefly. I was lying on a chunk of stone among Master Samuel's web of binds, where the castle used to stand. Master Samuel stood in front of me, accompanied by his horse and James. The smell, sounds and sensations of war hit me like a boulder. I closed my eyes again before they noticed I was awake. However, I felt like jumping with joy. I was alive! The gods made me an exception, and I had a second chance at life!

But, at the same time, I wondered if this was a sign that I wouldn't die in the war at all. Maybe it was a sign of victory! But, I doubted that. Maybe it just meant I'd died at the wrong time of the day, not the wrong day as a whole. My thoughts were interrupted as James spoke.

"Are you sure he's dead?" I heard James ask.

"Of course I'm sure!" Master Samuel snarled. "I checked his heartbeat and punched him several times in the stomach and on the head for good measure!"

"So what do you plan to do now?" James asked.

"Well, with him out of the way, I don't have many obstacles between me and complete and utter power," Master Samuel answered triumphantly. "I just have to finish this war once and for all, and claim Falador as mine. If you'll excuse me, I shall go and join the war. You can do what you wish with the boy's body." I heard a whinny, and I heard the flapping or large wings. I realised that the horse was setting off!

I jumped up suddenly. James' back was turned. I grabbed him and covered his mouth so he couldn't make much noise. I pushed him into the massive web of binds Master Samuel had created. He was lost in the web before he could call for help. His look of shock and anger as he tumbled among the binds was something I would have liked to remember.

Thankfully, any noise that was made was drowned out by the noise of the horse flapping its massive wings. I grabbed onto the horse at the very last second, and I clambered on as quietly as I could. The horse didn't notice.

I sat on the back of this horse, trying not to make any movement or sound. Master Samuel was humming to himself cheerfully. I was panicking. What could I do in my current situation? I could push Master Samuel off, but with the God Rune he could easily fly back up and destroy me. I could try and strike him with a weapon, but odds were it wouldn't do much to him in his current state. I looked down. We were far above the carnage, and I would most certainly die if I fell.

"I know you're there," Master Samuel hissed, making me jump. "I don't understand how you're still alive, but I don't care, because I have you right where I want you. I can have more fun killing you this time." He whispered a spell, and a long red transparent blade emerged from seemingly nowhere. Master Samuel took hold of the blade, turned around, and jumped forward.

I unsheathed Silverlight as quickly as I could, and I swung it in his direction. It hit him on the arm, but because of the God Rune it didn't do any noticeable damage. He sat there, laughing. I thought and thought of a way to defeat him. Any second he'd get bored and he'd end me. I realised that he'd become powerless without the God Rune. But how could I get it off him?

An idea struck me. I blessed my quick thinking. I turned around, and stabbed his horse in the leg. The horse screeched, and began trying to buck us off. I held on for dear life. Master Samuel wasn't expecting it, so he was almost flung off. I stabbed the horse again, and it made a more violent movement. Master Samuel was almost bucked off again. He pulled a face, and began crawling across the back of the horse. I saw my opportunity, and I stabbed the horse one more time.

Master Samuel was sent flying into the air, caught off guard. I slashed at him, and I ripped his red robes. I saw the God Rune strapped to his chest, and I slashed the strap. The God Rune was flung into the air. It went over Master Samuel's head, and fell into the web of binds.

"NO!" Master Samuel screamed. He went to control the horse to fly towards the web, but the horse was already descending because of its wounds. We didn't have much warning before the horse flew into the web and bucked us head-first among the binds.

I scrambled among the glowing purple ropes, trying to find the God Rune. I surfaced the web, scrambling towards the nearest lump of stone. I climbed on top of it, spying for the God Rune. I heard heavy breathing from behind me, and something sharp came into contact with my side. I keeled over, and I turned around to see my attacker.

Master Samuel stood there, his robes ripped, fuming. He was still holding his red blade. "I've lost the God Rune," he growled. "You've caused enough trouble. With no God Rune, it's a personal fight between me and you. I will slaughter you, God Rune or no God Rune. Sadly, when you have that rune, it makes you feel so powerful you don't feel like you need spare runes, so I can't use magic. It'll be me and you, just our two swords."

With a sudden movement, Master Samuel went to stab me. I blocked, struggling against the massive strength of Master Samuel. I saw him break a sweat. My arm began hurting very badly.

After a while, we broke the contact, panting. I tried to attack him again. He kicked me, and I was sent stumbling backwards. I wind-milled my arms to keep balance, and, snagged in the binds below, I saw the God Rune. Master Samuel saw it too. He jumped forward, and tried to grab it. I grabbed his foot at the last second and I dragged him backwards.

We wrestled for a little longer, trying to keep afloat in the fight. I didn't know how long I was going to last. Just as I was about to give up, I thought of Dream, Osrie1, and Amy11. I thought of all of my friends. I thought of Lumbridge, Varrock and Falador. I thought of Dream's pale body lying on the floor of the dungeon. These thoughts opened up a stream of hatred towards Master Samuel. This hatred gave me the energy to continue fighting.

In the end, I managed to overpower Master Samuel. I descended hard on him, and he fell on the floor, gasping for air. I grabbed his blade, and I threw it into the web. I grabbed him by the throat, and lifted him upwards.

"You're powerless," I spat. "You're weak, you're tired, you have no sword, and you've lost the God Rune. All of your supporters and soldiers are currently fighting for you. You should be ashamed of yourself. Your cockiness has been your downfall. If you'd killed me the moment we met again, you'd probably be standing over Falador, its new ruler. Now I am going to make you suffer for everything you've made me endure. You've killed so many people. You've done so many despicable things. It's payback time."

"Please have mercy," Master Samuel pleaded. "The God Rune, it does things to you. It makes you think wicked things, it rules over you. Please, please, I'm begging you." I snorted.

"You've done awful things before the God Rune," I growled. "You were greedy and evil enough to go looking for it. Besides, I doubt the God Rune has much to do with you. You deserve no redemption. You've gone beyond that." I murmured a bind spell, and Master Samuel was tied up in purple robes. I punched him in the stomach as hard as I could. "That was for Falador!" I bellowed. I kicked him in the groin. "That was for Dream Decay!" I sent Silverlight through his knee. "That was for me!"

I continued doing it for a long time. I was enjoying it very much. Master Samuel was at my feet, at my mercy. I knelt down, and retrieved the God Rune. As I held it, a great sense of power, achievement and pride filled me. Levels and runes didn't matter any more. I was in complete control. I wouldn't let it control me. I wouldn't be using it for long enough, anyway.

I held Silverlight above my head.

"This is my revenge," I bawled. "You will no longer cast a shadow across this world. Goodbye, Master Samuel." I threw Silverlight down, and it went through his heart. He lay there, gurgling and twitching slightly.

""You will regret this," Master Samuel hissed. "Even if I am gone, the Jury of Death will still exist. My book of ancient spells will be passed on. Even when I am gone, my work will never die! That is something nobody can destroy!" With a final groan, Master Samuel's eyes closed, and he went limp. Master Samuel was dead.

I paused for one second. Then, pure euphoria filled every inch of my body. I jumped up with joy. The man who'd made my life a misery was gone! I had nothing to worry about now! I yanked off his claw and put it in my bag. I decided to keep it, as a trophy of my triumph over arguably the evillest man in RuneScape.

Using the God Rune, I murmured a spell, and I flew upwards with Master Samuel's body. I was high above the war when I stopped. I could see everything clearly. Ray and Hope were at the core of the battle, killing Master Samuel's warriors by the dozen. I didn't want any more death. I uttered a spell that would magnify my voice.

"To all of Master Samuel's warriors!" I called out. I was ignored by anybody in the Sea of Sorrow. I put my hands in my pockets, distressed. I couldn't get their attention! The answer, however, was in my pocket.

I felt the shell of peace that I'd gotten from the Stronghold of Security.

I held it up, and opened it. The final charge from the shell blasted out among the war. Everyone stopped, and perfect silence fell upon Falador. Everyone stood still. I'd forced peace temporarily upon the people in the war.

"I have got Master Samuel's dead body right here. He has been defeated. I am currently in possession of the God Rune. I shall prove this to you." I whispered a very complicated spell in a hushed tone that wasn't magnified. The White Knight Castle began reconstructing itself. All of the binds fell apart, and I teleported anyone that was stuck among them into the Sea of Sorrow. After a moment, the castle stood, as tall and as proud as it did before.

"The battle shall end!" I shouted. My voice magnified once again. "There is no point fighting any more. Your leader is dead." Master Samuel's warriors walked away calmly, looking eerily relaxed. Forced peace tended to do that to a person. I'd witnessed it before in the Stronghold of Security. Just as people began leaving the battle, the spell was lifted, and pandemonium broke loose.

Master Samuel's warriors were trying to flee now, but the Falador warriors were getting in their way. Hope the dragon flew above, roasting any evil warriors that tried to escape. I decided to leave the battle burn itself out.

After a good half hour, every one of Master Samuel's soldiers had gone. They had either died or they'd fled successfully. Many had teleported out, but I cast a teleportation block spell afterwards to ensure nobody else could. Hope and Ray had flown towards the Black Knight's Fortress to attack it, to eliminate survivors who had fled there. It was necessary to stamp out as many of Master Samuel's warriors as possible to avoid another war. The Falador soldiers were whooping and cheering. The war was over. Master Samuel was dead. The God Rune was in safe hands.

I slowly hovered down to Sir Amik Varze. He gave me a grin, and I couldn't help but grin back.

"Could you please magnify my voice and make a stage please?" he whispered into my ear. I nodded, and clicked my fingers. The ground below us trembled, and rose. Sir Amik Varze cleared his throat.

"To all who stands in Falador now," Sir Amik Varze shouted. "You should be proud of yourselves. You have battled ferociously, and without your efforts we might not even be here. You will all be individually rewarded.

"But, among us, there is a certain person who triumphed over every obstacle in his way. He's done the impossible and proved to everyone here that, with a little bit of bravery and self-confidence, anything can happen. This man is standing right here." He tapped me on the shoulder heartily.

"Mainiac97 has saved our lives. With quick wit, strength and a tiny dash of luck, he has overpowered and killed Master Samuel and has ended this war for good. I believe he truly deserves the title of 'hero'. Do you all agree?" There was a roar of approval that rippled right throughout the crowd. "Mainiac97, I hail you as a hero. You will be put in our hall of heroes, and you will be remembered for years to come for your outstanding bravery.

"You have defeated the man everybody feared, and, better yet, you have gotten rid of him so his presence will no longer haunt us. On a later date, a reward ceremony will take place, where we can reward you (and many others) fully. But, for now, everybody give our hero a big cheer!"

The crowd almost exploded with cheers and whoops. I couldn't do much more than smile. I couldn't believe what I'd achieved. If, this morning, somebody approached me and told me I would defeat Master Samuel later in the day, I'd laugh. If they told me I would die and come back to life, I would laugh even harder. I thought, maybe, I was dreaming. I pinched myself to make sure.

Today, good things and bad things had happened. Master Samuel was gone, for a start, and most of my worries had evaporated. However, my best friend was dead, and many other people had died in the war. There was no way of bringing the dead back to life (not counting necromancy). I was lucky to be alive. I was only here because of chance. The gods could have decided that I was well and truly dead, and I'd probably be in the afterlife right now.

I stared down at the God Rune. I most definitely wasn't going to keep it. It was very, very powerful, but it changed your frame of mind completely. I could do things that gods could do, and I didn't feel comfortable with that sensation buzzing around in my stomach. I'd probably end up giving it away to someone who needed it more than me, probably Sedridor.

I stared up at the sky thoughtfully. I'd had quite a fantastic adventure through RuneScape. I didn't know where I came from. Mystery still surrounded my life. Even if I'd defeated Master Samuel and, to an extent, brought peace to RuneScape, I knew, in my heart, my adventure was far from over. Places remained unexplored, enemies remained undefeated, quests remained uncompleted, and life remained unlived. I would wind up back in the Calm Space at some point, chatting with Death, and I wanted to take advantage of the time I had left before then.

* * *

_...and that concludes chapter 80! This is arguably the most important chapter in this whole story, so I hope you liked it. My question to you is, if you had Master Samuel at your mercy, what would you do to him?  
_

_Although it sounds like the story has come to an end, it hasn't quite yet, so don't pull out the tissues yet :P. Next up is my annual Halloween special, and after that expect to see an epilogue of some sort and a final author note. I'll discuss what happens beyond that in the final author note._

_Until next time, toodles!  
_


	81. Chapter 81: Fire and Brimstone

_Greetings mortals, and welcome to my Halloween special 2010! Muahahaha!_

_I hope you enjoy my seasonal special. Remember, if you spot mistakes/typos in this chapter, please point them out to me. I would be extremely grateful. Thanks._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Jagex, RuneScape, or any of the RuneScape characters. All I own is the plot of this fanfiction and some of the characters in the story. I am not making a financial profit from this story._

* * *

_**Chapter 81: Fire and Brimstone**_

The following month after the War of Falador was a fairly… interesting month. Master Samuel's body had been burned to ashes, and the ashes had been placed in a pot. The ashes had been mixed with some water from the River Salve and had been placed on an altar in the White Knight Castle. This was done in the hope that Master Samuel's soul would be purified and he would be forgiven. I personally thought that Master Samuel's soul was way beyond purifying, and I didn't feel he deserved any form of redemption.

A search effort had begun to look for the Noob Exterminators and the Demon Clan after their escape during the recent war, but neither could be found. I was very angry at this, because if they weren't caught soon goodness knew what disasters they could cause. They'd proven themselves menaces to society.

I'd become famous after being hailed as a hero by Sir Amik Varze. People recognised me in the streets, thanked me for defeating Master Samuel, and some even asked for my autograph! I wasn't used to it, but I was pretty sure I'd be able to get used to it very quickly. Sir Amik Varze warned me that, after the reward ceremony, I'd become even more famous. My name would grow beyond the boundaries of Falador. He told me that, technically, I'd saved RuneScape, so I'd become a RuneScape celebrity pretty quickly. I wasn't sure if I wanted this.

The God Rune had been given to Sedridor. He'd used it to help rebuild Falador before taking it to the Wizard's Tower to help him with his all-important research on the massive spell he'd discovered.

Although the summer was ending (to my sadness), I was looking forward to autumn and winter. To me, they meant Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and finally New Year's Day. It was a fun time of the year.

I felt we'd stayed long enough in Falador, and we were making arrangements to move on to Port Sarim. There was more to explore there. I'd explored most, if not all, of Falador, and I knew the city like the back of my hand. I wanted a change of atmosphere and some new places to explore, and Port Sarim fitted the glove perfectly.

On Halloween, in the morning, I was working on my house. I'd almost finished my new room, and I had a pretty solid idea as to what I wanted it to be. Just as I was sawing a plank in half, I heard a whistling coming from the garden. I put my saw down, and went to investigate. It was Postie Pete (the mailman) floating there, struggling to fit a large package into my mailbox.

"Don't bother," I chuckled. "I can take it straight off you."

"Thanks," Postie Pete grinned. He put the package at my feet. "Happy Halloween, by the way!" he yelled behind him as he was leaving.

"Thanks and ditto!" I yelled back. He left my house, and I eyed the parcel greedily. I ripped it open with one swift movement.

Inside the parcel were two small crates and a note. I picked the note up, and read it.

_Dear RuneScape homes customer,_

_We wish you a very happy Halloween! To celebrate this spooky time of the year, we've sent you some special gifts._

_The first crate is full of scary Halloween decorations to decorate your home with. In our stores, we are selling many more decorations. The second crate is a bonus crate of supplies, on top of your weekly small supply crate._

_Once again, thank you for buying a home with us, and we hope you have a pleasant Halloween and autumn in general!_

_Sincerely,_

_RuneScape homes_

I smiled fondly at the note, and put it aside. I opened up the supply crate and added it to my pile of building materials. I opened up the other crate, and a large array of decorations fell into my lap, including fake spiders, fake cobwebs, a magical-moving dancing skeleton, a wooden vampire model, and two fake gravestones.

A small white box sat at the bottom. I picked it up curiously. There was a note pinned to it saying 'shake me'. I did so, and a ghost came out. I yelped, and dropped the box. The ghost floated around my garden, making eerie noises. I tried attacking the ghost but I discovered it made out of white mist and was completely harmless. I shook the box again, and the ghost disappeared. I ran around my one-room house and my garden, decorating the place.

I checked my clock, and my eyes widened. I was meant to meet Amy11 in Falador square at 11:00am, and it was 10:40am at the moment! I'd gotten so distracted by the crate I'd almost forgotten about it! I rushed around, getting changed. As I was leaving, I felt something small hit my shoulder. I saw Eek the spider.

"Hello," he greeted cheerfully. "Today is Halloween! You've had me as a pet for a whole year! Isn't that amazing?" I nodded in agreement. He crawled into my pocket happily. I stepped out of my house, and I appeared in the Falador square.

I still had ten minutes, so I decided to go into the bakers. They were selling pumpkin pies today, for obvious reasons. I walked out of the bakers, munching a pie. I spotted Amy11 dressed up in her witch costume. I approached her, and she waved at me and hugged me.

"Hello!" she chirped happily. "Happy Halloween to you!"

"Thanks," I smiled back. "Happy Halloween to you too! So, why did you want to meet up now?"

"Well, I heard that there was a Halloween shop that had been set up in Lumbridge recently," she explained. "They'd be selling tricks, sweets, decorations, and the like. I didn't want to go alone, so I was wondering if you were interested in coming with me."

"Of course," I said. "It sounds nice. I'd be happy to go with you." We pulled out our wands, drew circles with them, and muttered the Lumbridge teleport incantation. We appeared in the Lumbridge square, outside the castle. I hadn't been in Lumbridge for ages, so I was filled with nostalgia going through old memories. I took Amy11's arm, and we walked through Lumbridge, chatting contently.

Amy11 took me to where the Halloween shop supposedly was. I thought it was just an abandoned old building before, but it had been refurbished. A large sign which read 'Halloween goods for sale' stood by the door. The sign had purposely been painted in sloppy red letters for effect. I could hear haunted music coming from somewhere. I opened the door, and it creaked menacingly.

The shop was packed with all types of goodies. Several massive open crates full of pumpkins stood in front of me. The shop had been separated into four areas: 'decorations', 'costumes', 'food' and 'miscellaneous'.

We decided to explore the decorations first. The shop sold a massive array of realistic, spooky, magical and novelty decorations. I decided to buy a large, scary gargoyle to decorate my house with. There were also many costumes, but none of them were as good as the seasonal event rewards you could get. I decided to buy some draping black robes to match my Death hood and my scythe.

The food section was my favourite. They sold pumpkin-shaped gobstoppers, popcorn balls, wrapped candies, chocolate bars, chocolate drops, wrapped sweets, slices of pumpkin pie, lollies, cakes, and many more besides. They also had a random collection of novelty sweets, like spider-shaped sweets that wriggled in your mouth, blood-flavoured lollies, enchanted chocolates that temporarily turned you into a bat, and so on. There was so much choice I didn't know what to pick.

There wasn't anything particularly interesting in the miscellaneous section. There were candles that let off purple mist, there were occult objects (empty glass balls with holders shaped like spiders, bat teeth, real skulls, etc). I didn't buy anything from this section.

We went to pay for our stuff. The shopkeeper was dressed up like a zombie, and he wished us a happy Halloween and gave us a handful of wrapped sweets for free. I put one in my pocket for Eek to feast on. As we turned to leave the shop, we bumped into Clayguy7. We said hello, wished him a happy Halloween, and asked him what he was doing for Halloween.

"Not much," he admitted. "I came here to check out the shop. I might be going trick-or-treating a bit later, but I'm not sure. What about you?"

"Same as you, more or less," I replied. "The only difference is that we are definitely going trick-or-treating."

"By the way," Clayguy7 said. "On my way here, I passed an odd-looking portal, but I decided to ignore it. Do you want to investigate with me?" Amy11 and I agreed to accompany him.

We walked through Draynor, chatting animatedly and admiring the decorations. Draynor Village was also in the Halloween mood. Wooden skeletons hung from ropes draped from house to house. Pumpkins with candles in them dotted the village. People that I passed in the streets wore scary costumes.

We arrived at the portal Clayguy7 was talking about. I recognised it as the portal that led to Death's house! I remembered what the portal looked like well:

_The portal stood on a black stone, with a picture of a raven standing on a scythe engraved into it. The portal rim was gold, with evil shapes of ravens, spiders, and scythes moulded onto it. The portal itself seemed to suck light and life out of the atmosphere. My stomach dropped. _

There was only one difference to the portal now. At the very top, a brick of black marble had been placed. Engraved into this brick was the word 'nevermore'. Ravens were engraved around the word. I frowned. I didn't understand the meaning behind the word, but I didn't care nevertheless. I was going to meet Death again! Without a second thought, I pounced into the portal.

I was dragged through a suffocating darkness. I heard very eerie noises echo around me. I could feel a wicked evil wind blowing against me. After a minute, I landed on solid ground. I stood up, and dusted myself off.

In front of me Death's mansion stood in its full glory. It was the same as last time. It still towered over me, like something from my worst nightmares, although I couldn't expect much better from Death himself. It seemed cleaner than last time. The sky was black and purple, with twisting shapes forming in it. I remembered the rotting Ficus trees. I heard two thumps behind me. Amy11 and Clayguy7 had arrived.

Amy11 groaned. "I remember this place," she muttered darkly. "I can't say I enjoyed my experiences here. I can never look at a spider in the same way again." She shuddered. I felt Eek crawl from my pocket and onto my shoulder. I heard him gasp.

"Oh my!" he exclaimed. "This is Death's house! What are we doing here again?" I shrugged.

"I'd assume he has some sort of event or task for us," I said. "We'll find out now." We walked up to his door and entered.

What I saw was very, very different to what I was expecting. The house was surprisingly clean compared to the last time I'd seen it. I remembered that everything was grimy and dusty last time. I had to chuckle when I saw no cobwebs.

The place was bustling with people. A very long table stood on one side of the room, while all of the furniture and decorations had been put on the other side. At the other end of the room, I recognised Death sitting on his throne. He wore a black cloak, and he was literally reanimated skeleton. He held his famous magnificent scythe. We approached him nervously. Clayguy7 seemed the most reluctant to talk to Death because he'd never met him before.

"Greetings, mortals," Death rumbled throatily. "I recognise two of you. How may I help you on this fine Halloween?"

"Well," I began. "We discovered your portal, and we were wondering why there are so many people here. We also wonder if you have any tasks for us this Halloween."

"There's a reason why my house is especially busy today, mortals," Death wheezed. "Ever since you, Mainiac97, slew Master Samuel and brought peace to RuneScape, nobody's been dying. The curse of possession has been lifted from animals, and people simply have not been dying. Of course, there's been the occasional death, but the death rate has decreased drastically.

"I've been bored to death (no pun intended). So, to keep myself entertained, I've been reduced to cleaning my house. Normally, I keep my house dirty so, if anyone visits my house during Halloween, I can get them to do my cleaning, and in exchange I give them some junk that clogs up my draws and wardrobes. Well, for me it's junk, but to you mortals it's quite valuable. That way, I kill three birds with one stone. My house is cleaned, I get rid of my junk, and I create Halloween events for people.

"However, this year, my house is clean, so I have no chores for people to do for me. I decided, instead, to host a party. This would create jobs for people, it would mark Halloween excellently, and it would also be fun. I'm not the one getting everything arranged, though. I'm just overlooking."

"Who is arranging everything then?" I asked.

"Pumpkin Pete, of course," Death replied, pointing towards a certain person standing by the table.

This person certainly looked odd. He wore a glittery purple suit, and he wore pointy purple shoes. He wore black gloves, and he held a black cane with a small glittery orange pumpkin on the tip. The strangest thing about him, though, was his face. He didn't have face. Instead, he had a massive pumpkin for a head. The eyes of the pumpkin were glowing different colours. It was odd seeing it. His mouth moved when he talked, which was also very unnerving.

"Who is Pumpkin Pete?" I enquired.

"He's related to Party Pete, of course," Death told me. "He specifies in arranging Halloween parties. He's excellent at it. He's requested all across the land for his abilities. But, of course, me being Death, he made my party request his priority. If you want a chore, then he's the person you should ask." I nodded, thanked Death, and walked towards Pumpkin Pete.

He was busy talking to somebody else, but as soon as he finished his conversation with that person, he turned to me.

"Hello," he greeted. "I am Pumpkin Pete, and you need no introduction. My relative Party Pete was gossiping about you, and Death mentioned you as well. You are Mainiac97, slayer of Master Samuel. However, I am sorry to admit that I do not recognise your friends." Amy11 and Clayguy7 introduced themselves. "How can I help you?" Pumpkin Pete asked politely.

"Well, my friends and I would like to help out with the party," I informed him. Pumpkin Pete nodded.

"Of course," Pumpkin Pete beamed. "I actually have a very important chore you could do. Allow me to explain.

"You see, I've invited a very famous band to perform at the party. They're very powerful singers, and their style of music would be perfect for a Halloween party. There is only one problem, though. All members of the band are part-demon. This doesn't mean anything too serious, it just means they're slightly sinister and can be very threatening when they want to be. They're also very picky with their food, which leads me to the main part of the problem.

"They've requested a very specific pie called the fire-and-brimstone pie, which is a suitable snack for demons. We've almost finished the pie. We're just missing a very important ingredient, which happens to be the brimstone."

"What's brimstone?" I asked curiously.

"It's a type of gem/rock," Pumpkin Pete informed. "It's very rare, but it's very valuable and can be used in potions and certain foods. It's yellow in colour."

"So you want us to find the brimstone?" I queried. Pumpkin Pete nodded. "How are we meant to find the brimstone?"

"There is a wizard at the top of the Wizard's Tower who can access a cavern which contains brimstone rocks," Pumpkin Pete told us. "I'm sure that, if you talk to this wizard, he'll give you entry to the cavern." I thanked Pumpkin Pete, and we left Death's house.

We ran through Draynor again, and we went into the Wizard's Tower. We ran up the steps, to the top. We saw a frail old wizard. He was standing next to a strange machine with an amulet-shaped hole in the middle, with beads of different colours in slots around the amulet-shaped one. I recognised the machine and the beads. There was a large wooden desk next to the machine. The wizard turned around, and jumped.

"I recognise you!" he said to me. "You're the boy who gave me my beads back! Hello! How can I help you and your friends?" I explained our situation to him, and I asked him about the brimstone. He gasped.

"I was considering going in that cavern today!" he told us. "I need some brimstone for a spell I'm going to cast. We may as well go there now. I'm getting old now, and I need some youngsters to accompany me when I go to dangerous places." He murmured a spell, and waved an odd trinket in the air. A red, swirling portal appeared. "Now, beware, this cavern is deep underneath an active volcano, so there is a lake of lava in the cavern," he warned. "Also, I've heard that this particular cavern is the home of a dangerous demon, although I've never met any demon. Are you ready?" We all nodded nervously. We stepped into the portal one by one.

We all appeared in a fairly large cave. I shivered. There was a green fungus dripping from the ceiling. Pointy rocks stuck out everywhere. On one side of the cave, a lake of lava ran. The heat could be felt from the other side. On the far end of the dark, dismal cave, I saw strange yellow rocks. These were obviously the brimstone rocks. There were even brimstone rocks on the ceiling! I realised how difficult it probably was to get here by foot. Only powerful magicians had instant access to the cave, and they were lucky.

We approached the rocks cautiously. I pulled my pickaxe out, and began mining the rock. The others began mining too. The wizard was removing the rocks magically.

At one point, I struck a rock, and a strange, pitch-black ring fell into my hand. A black rock was stuck to it. The wizard told me that it was uncommon to find those rings deep under the ground while mining. Apparently, they were called rings of stone, and when the stone was held down you turned into a rock temporarily until you thought yourself out of the stone. I tried it out, and I turned into a rock. I'd felt a similar sensation with the Easter ring, and the leprechaun ring. I put it on my finger gladly.

My bag was slowly filling with the shiny yellow brimstone rocks. Just as I began mining another rock, the whole cavern began shaking. A large part of the ceiling collapsed, showering us with brimstone, stones and filth. A roar echoed around the stone walls of the cavern. The river of lava parted, and a massive, black, scaly, slimy hand emerged. The hand was followed by an arm, and then another arm. Sooner or later, a colossal black demon towered over us.

This demon was twice as large as Delrith, and twice as horrifying. Its eyes were rolling madly, and drool was dripping from its mouth. It had black scales instead of red scales, and it was level 115. It roared its displeasure, and flames shot out of its nostrils. It swiped a massive claw towards us, and we dodged frantically.

"So this is the demon I've heard so much about," the wizard murmured. "I extract these rocks magically, so I don't disturb the demon, but it's obviously awoken when the rocks are mined. Everybody, get ready for the fight of your life!"

"I've fought worse," Clayguy7 laughed. He jumped upwards, and tried to strike the demon with his clay hammer. The demon knocked him into the wall opposite. Clayugy7 stood up, dusting himself off. "Maybe not," he admitted.

We took it in turns to run forward to try and attack the demon. Occasionally, we ran forward together to try and cause more damage the demon. We tried to carry on mining, but we had to stay alert, otherwise we'd get swept away by the demon's hand. It became very, very difficult when the demon started breathing black flames. My arm was scorched at one point. It didn't look like we'd be able to triumph over the demon.

An idea occurred to me, although I doubted it would be successful. I felt for my ring of stone, and I transformed into a rock. The demon didn't notice, and continued attacking the others. I transformed back, and ran forward. The demon tried to hit me, but I transformed into a rock again. The demon missed, startled. It forgot about me easily, and it continued attacking the others.

I continued the process until I was dangerously close to the demon. The others had caught on to my plans, and tried their best to distract the already enraged demon. I turned myself back into my normal form, and I pounced towards the demon. I grabbed onto its horns. The demon tried to knock me off, but it ended up hitting itself by accident. It tried shaking me off angrily. I grabbed Silverlight, and I threw Silverlight into its head. Filthy black blood spilled out, and the demon roared in pain and rage. This bought the others enough time to get close, and we all jumped on its head, minus the wizard, who threw spells at it from afar. We all attacked its head, and this severely injured it. It threw us off successfully, bellowing with agony.

We continued the attack confidently, and in the end we managed to best it. It collapsed, dead. Its body transformed into a pile of ashes, coins, fire runes, and some brimstone. We shared the reward out equally, but the wizard took the ash, telling us demon ash could be very useful. We gathered all of the brimstone that had fallen from the ceiling during the attack.

We spent another hour or so mining the rest of the brimstone. The wizard told us that, after another day or so, more brimstone would replace what we'd mined. This made me wonder how it was considered rare if it respawned. I voiced these questions to the wizard, and he explained that this and a few other places were practically the only places where brimstone could be mined. Brimstone spawned in very hard-to-access places.

The wizard opened up the portal again, and we appeared back in the wizard's tower. We were all covered with mud and blood, so the wizard cast a cleaning spell on us.

"Well, thank you for accompanying me to that cave," he said. "It got the job done half as quickly, even though we woke up a black demon."

"No," I protested. "Thank you for opening the portal for us, and letting us come with you."

We turned to leave, but the wizard stopped us.

"Wait!" he cried. "Let me reward you." I began arguing, but he put his hand up, and I stopped. He pulled a massive cauldron out from underneath his desk. This cauldron was filled with a green mixture. He also pulled out a large pot filled with dozens of golden amulets. He threw a few pieces of brimstone inside the potion, and he cast a fire spell on the potion. It bubbled, and turned a strange shade of orange. He emptied the pot of golden amulets into the potion. He began moving his fingers over the surface of the potion, murmuring a spell. He dipped some odd trinket into the potion, whispering more spells. In the end, the potion turned blood-red, and the amulets floated to the surface. He scooped them out, and handed one each to us.

The amulet was a normal golden amulet, but the potion had altered it slightly. It filled my body with fear just looking at it, and it seemed to be glowing red.

"What have you done to them?" I whispered fretfully.

"I've cast a spell on it known as the spell of fear," the wizard explained. "This spell isn't a wicked spell. When you wear that amulet, it will make you appear scarier to people. Allow me to demonstrate." He put one of these enchanted amulets around his own neck, and suddenly he appeared twice as tall and twice as intimidating. I shrunk back from him. He chortled, and pulled it off. He turned back to normal. I sighed with relief, and clapped.

"It can be very useful in certain situations," the wizard smiled. "I intend to give them out to trick-or-treaters who visit the tower tonight. I hope you can put it to good use." He also gave me my quest scroll for the bead quest I did a while ago. The scroll read:

**Congratulations! You have completed Imp Catcher.**

**You have earned:**

**1 quest point**

**An experience lamp containing 200 magic exp**

**The amulet of accuracy**

The wizard explained that the amulet of accuracy was an amulet that ensures that any spells that you cast or any arrows you shoot hit their target. I thanked the wizard thoroughly, and shook his hand. He waved us goodbye.

I admired my amulets gladly as we walked back to Death's house. The sun was setting, and I saw people going around trick-or-treating.

We entered Death's house, and we walked up to Pumpkin Pete. He smiled at the sight of us.

"So, how did the search for the brimstone go?" he asked cheerfully. We all emptied our bags of the brimstone we'd collected, and it all formed a small mountain of glittery yellow rocks. Pumpkin Pete's carved mouth fell open.

"Wow," he mumbled. "This'll be way too much. I'll take some, and you can take the rest, OK?" We all nodded. He helped himself to a good quarter of the brimstone, and we kept the rest.

"Well, thank you for helping out," Pumpkin Pete said. "Here are your rewards from me. Talk to Death for a reward from him." He handed us one white brooch each. There was a skull on the brooch. "That is the bone brooch," he told us. "Press the skull." I pinned it to my belt. I pressed the skull, and I suddenly transformed into a pile of bones. Everyone else laughed. I thought myself out of the bone form.

Suddenly, ropes went around my hands and legs. They dragged me upwards, and began moving around. I was being forced to dance! After a few seconds, the ropes lowered and let me go. Pumpkin Pete explained that I'd learnt the 'puppet master' emote. It was considered a dance move, and could be used to avoid attacking enemies.

"Also, take this." He handed me a card, which said _'you have been invited to Death's Halloween party'_ on it, with a signature underneath. I thanked Pumpkin Pete. "No problem," he smiled. "You've worked very, very hard for me, and I'm obliged to give all of my workers to the party. It is currently 6:00pm, and the party starts at 9:00pm. You've got three hours to go trick-or-treating, get changed, etc, before coming back here. Enjoy yourselves!" I shook his hand, and I ran to Death.

"Hello, mortal," he said to me. He sounded grave, but then again he always sounded like that.

"I've completed the task assigned to me by Pumpkin Pete," I told him anxiously.

"Well done," Death answered. "I have some rewards for you." He handed me a small black box. "That is a Halloween decoration which I made myself. If you shake it, a figure that looks like me made from mist will appear and float. It makes the floor go all misty." I noticed that it was similar to the ghost decoration I'd gotten from RuneScape homes.

I extended thanks to Death, and turned to leave. He stopped me just as I was about to leave. "What's that hanging from your neck?" he questioned. I handed him my amulet of fear. He snorted. "This is human trickery," he sniggered. "This isn't as effective as it could be." He muttered a spell, and the red glow in the amulet magnified. "This'll be twice as effective now." I thanked Death again, and left his house. I waited for a minute, and Amy11 left.

"Where's Clayguy7?" I asked. Amy11 explained that he'd stayed inside to take on bodyguard duty for extra rewards.

We went to Diango to claim our previous Halloween rewards. I picked a gruesome monster mask, and a zombie head which started insulting me. He told me that I'd claimed every single previous Halloween reward, and next year he'd give me an experience lamp instead. I thanked him, and put my goodies in the bank.

I changed into my Death outfit, which included the hood, scythe, and the robes I bought earlier. I also wore my amulet of fear. Amy11 and I created some type of drama, where she knocked the door, and when the door opened I jumped into sight, and when I touched Amy11 she'd use her bone brooch. This gave off the impression that I'd killed her. This scared everyone senseless, and I had to take my amulet off and pull my hood down before they screamed for help. We usually got extra treats because of how scary our little act was. It even scared Aggie the witch, who was usually fearless.

We went all around Draynor and Lumbridge trick-or-treating. By the end, all of my pots were filled with candy.

We decided to go to Death's party slightly early. We went into the portal, and a massive hand stopped us.

"Do you have your invitation?" a familiar voice asked. I looked up, and saw Clayguy7 grinning down on us. I flourished my invitation, and Claguy7 let us pass with a wink.

The house didn't have the crowded, bustling atmosphere any more. A dance floor had been cleared, and people were dancing in it. A large stage had been set up, and a band was performing a spooky song. I could see that the members of the band had demonic features to their faces. Death sat in his chair, as sombre as ever. The long table had been filled with all types of foods. Some of the foods didn't look edible for us, while there were party favourites there as well (including cake, pie, pizza, beer, etc).

I enjoyed that night very, very much. I danced with Amy11, ate, drank, danced some more, and ate some more. I chatted with Death, Clayguy7, Pumpkin Pete and others I recognised there (Sir Amik Varze and Duke Horacio had been invited, for instance).

But, even as I stumbled home, I still thought of the demon, and worried. The attack of the demon proved that dangers still lurked in the depths of RuneScape, and killing Master Samuel hadn't eradicated all of my enemies. I wondered where James, the MCM and his clone, the surviving black knight commanders, and others were. I wondered what they were planning, and I worried, even though there wasn't too much cause for worry at that moment.

* * *

_I hope y'all enjoyed my take on this year's Halloween event, and I wish each and every one of you a Happy Halloween! :D_

_Yeah, as you can see, my version of the Halloween event is very different to Jagex's original. My question to you for this chapter is, which version did you prefer? Please be honest._

_Next chapter will be the epilogue, and beyond that there will be some final author notes._

_Until next time, toodles!  
_


	82. Chapter 82: Epilogue

_Hello, hello, hello, what's happenin' readers?_

_So guys, this is it. This chapter marks the official end of 'The Adventure Through RuneScape'! This chapter consists of the epilogue, and my long-winded final author notes._

_By the way, I have re-uploaded chapter 8 alongside this chapter. I've also published a one-shot (called 'I'm Sorry' if you're interested) to mark the end of this story, and, as usual, if you spot mistakes I would be grateful if you could point them out to me. Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Jagex, RuneScape, or any of the RuneScape characters. All I own is the plot of this fanfiction and some of the characters in the story. I am not making a financial profit from this story._

* * *

_**Chapter 82: Epilogue**_

I stepped into my house blearily. I walked into my makeshift bedroom, and said hello to Eek. I changed, and sat down on my chair to collect my thoughts.

The rewarding ceremony had only taken place a few days ago. Everyone that was in the war received a fairly large reward, but most of the attention was placed on me because I was the one who virtually ended the war. I didn't feel like I deserved the attention I was receiving. I felt like it was luck that got me through (again), because the gods decided to make me an exception to their rules and bring me back to life. If that hadn't happened, I wouldn't be here.

I'd received several rewards that day. I'd received a place in the White Knight Castle's hall of heroes. I was now welcome in the castle at any time. I'd received gold-plated white knight armour, and I was permitted to keep the ordinary white knight armour that I'd used in the battle. I decided to store my steel armour and use that on a regular basis instead.

I'd received a vast amount of quest points, and approximately one million coins from the Falador treasury. I'd used this money to fund the construction of my house, and I still had about 900, 000gp left, as well as a massive pile of building materials.

My most prized award, though, was the Falador pendulum. Years ago, only fifty had been created by the most talented dwarves. They had the crest of Falador carved into it, with many metals swirling around the crest. The chain had been crafted from a mixture of iron, rune metal, and diamond. Five to ten had been given away before, and only the greatest heroes and leaders of Falador and RuneScape could earn one.

I'd finished work on my house for the time being. I'd built not one, not two, but three new rooms in the time since Halloween! The money I had been given had helped greatly. My first room was a kitchen, so if I was hurt, had guests, or was just plain hungry I could prepare food. So far I'd built a larder (which I'd stocked with food and ingredients), a sink, a cupboard, a table, three chairs, and a very basic stove.

My second room was my trophy room. I'd filled it with the things that summarised my past, the fights I'd won, and my greatest memories. Once that particular room was finished, I'd spent quite a lot of money on display cases and plaques that I could write information on using magic/a professional stonemason. Walking through the trophy room made me feel nostalgic. So far, the objects included in my display were my bronze helmet, the empty shell of peace, the Falador pendulum, my ghost speak amulet, Master Samuel's metal claw, and my gold-plated white knight armour. Each and every item meant something huge to me. I figured that the gold-plated armour was too valuable to use in combat, so it would look better on a stand in my trophy room.

The third room was a spare bedroom that Amy11 was currently using. She was staying in my house as a temporary measure, so she had time to make money to buy her own house. She was out doing just that at that very moment. Once she had moved into her new house, I'd make the bedroom she was using my bedroom and I would make my current makeshift bedroom a sitting room. Osrie1 was currently sleeping in and working on his own house. Naturally, the first room he intended to build was a kitchen.

We'd moved from Falador to Port Sarim, and I was spending a lot of my time exploring the area, getting to know the locals, and generally getting used to the new environment. The sea air was very soothing, and there were constantly new people going in and out of the sleepy village. It was a port, after all.

I also spent a lot of my time training some skills in Port Sarim. I'd befriended an old fisherman, who was teaching me a lot about fishing and giving me some friendly tips on the skill. I was using all the fish I caught to stock my larder.

In exchange for giving him the God Rune and saving him a lot of work, Sedridor gave me a big secret involving rune stones. If crafted correctly at the right altars, rune stones could be gathered and turned into runes. The talisman that Duke Horacio had given me a while ago was actually an ancient artefact which could guide a person to a particular altar, depending on the type of talisman. The talisman I'd gotten from the duke was called the talisman of air.

Sedridor had been teaching me how to use the talisman to find the correct ruins. If I touched the correct ruins with the talisman it would take me to the altar of air, which could be used to make air runes. This skill was called runecrafting. Sedridor gave me the air talisman, saying that he could use the God Rune to make/find a new one if necessary. I'd made it a personal quest to find more talismans so I could access more altars.

Sedridor told me that he'd almost completed his massive, world-changing spell. Once it was completed, he'd send it to the guild of wizards in Yanille for them to check over it and do what they wanted to do with it. He also planned to send the God Rune to them at some point once he was finished with it, because he felt like it would be put to better use there.

Another recent event was Dream Decay's funeral. It was a very sad and sombre day. Many people, half of which I didn't recognise, showed up to pay their respects to him. He was also added to the hall of heroes, and he was buried in the graveyard of the recently-built Falador church. Many people came up to offer speeches about him, including me, Emily, Sir Amik Varze, and some other people I didn't recognise. Apparently, Dream Decay had worked for Sir Amik Varze before at some point. Dream was buried with the armour he died in.

So many people had died recently. Dream Decay, Cedric, Gypsy Aris, Master Samuel, Left and Right of the black knight commanders… I hoped that Master Samuel's defeat had marked the beginning of a new era, an era of life.

I soon found out that, even though Master Samuel was dead, when people died they still didn't respawn. I didn't understand this. I thought that no more possessed creatures and no more wicked spells would have restarted respawning.

I discovered that Ray and his dragon, Hope, already had a place in the hall of heroes. Apparently, he starting the Glory Troopers had earned him his place in the hall. I hadn't seen him since the war. I didn't know where he was. All I knew was that he was probably doing something good and saving someone's life. I wished him luck with his own future. He was a wonderful person and he deserved all of the riches of the world. I hoped I would meet him again at some point, though, so I could thank him properly.

As I was pondering these thoughts, I heard someone enter the house. I went on full alert. I peered suspiciously out into my garden, and I saw Ilookgood99. I relaxed, and opened the door.

"Hello," I sighed. "You scared me there. How are you, and how did you get into my house?" I would normally be very wary and frightened if somebody entered my house uninvited, but I'd come to expect these sort of things from Ilookgood99. I knew he meant no harm, and I knew that's just the way he worked.

"I'm very well, thank you," Ilookgood99 replied cordially. "As for me getting in here, when you're me, it's not particularly hard."

"Do you want something to drink?" I asked. He shook his head.

"Thanks, but no thanks," he told me. "I'm on a tight schedule. I've come here for two primary reasons.

"My first reason for visiting you today is to congratulate you for defeating Master Samuel. My second and main reason for coming here today, though, is to warn you. Although Master Samuel is dead, danger still lurks out there. You'll always have your dear friends the Noob Exterminators and the Demon Clan to deal with, so you will never be completely safe from harm. But, Master Samuel's supporters live on. They've regrouped, and are continuing with Master Samuel's legacy. They're still working on their vile potion, and they want revenge. The darkness rolls on, never-ending, never ceasing."

"Without Master Samuel and the God Rune, though, they're powerless," I protested. "They haven't got the same means of attacking me." Ilookgood99 groaned.

"If you won't listen, I'll show you," he murmured. He pulled something from his robes and he threw it on the floor. It was a small metal orb with a button on it. He bent down and pushed the button, and suddenly my eyes misted over. I fell to the floor, twitching. The orb had blown up. A strange silver mist surrounded me, and dragged me in.

_James stood by the cauldron, growling with apparent rage. He, the MCM's, and some dark wizards and black knights were obviously in a camp of some sort in the middle of the wilderness. The liquid inside the cauldron was bubbling and letting off a red mist. James cracked his knuckles, and turned to the MCM and his clone._

"_Where are they?" he demanded. "They said they would be back with it by now." At that very moment, two grave-looking black knights wearing black med helmets approached James._

"_We have found it," one of the men whispered. "You must give credit to the old man, he hid his valuables well. Even the Jury of Death had problems finding it! There is a note inside." He handed a massive, dusty tome to James. James snatched it off him, took the note out of the book, and read it. _

_It read 'James, it is unlikely that I will die, but in the event of my death, I will entrust this book to you. This is the book Zamorak blessed me with many years ago. It contains very secret and very wicked spells and recipes, including the recipe for our massive potion. I am also entrusting you with the burden of continuing the brewing of that potion. Remember the plentiful rewards it will offer! Any information you will need will either be in the book or with the Jury of Death. When you die, pass it on, so my legacy and my work will never die. Good luck. Best regards, Master Samuel.'_

_James held the book high, and cackled with glee. "It is not all over!" James yelled. "Even if Master Samuel has died, we will still triumph! We will re-gather the army, and we'll expand it so it is bigger than ever before!"_

With a gasp, I sat up. I looked around. I was drenched in sweat, and my clothes were sticking to me. Ilookgood99 was gone, and Eek stood on my chest, asking me if I was OK. I waved him off, telling him I was fine.

To be frank, I was scared. I thought I was able to finally relax with no pressure on my back, but obviously not. The potion would still continue as planned even with Master Samuel's death. I could safely assume James would want revenge, so I knew I was never safe. Worse yet, James had received Master Samuel's book and now knew all the magic that made my life a nightmare. I was a fool to think that my life would become more peaceful.

I left my house, putting my hand through my hair nervously. I appeared in Port Sarim. The salty sea air swept over me. I breathed in deeply. Port Sarim was a lovely place to live in. It was very quiet and very relaxing. There were constantly new people coming in and out of the port, as well as all of the locals. Some of the locals could sometimes be a little strange, but it was a small price to pay for the peace and quiet the little port town offered. The air was fresh and healthy, and the sounds of the sea always unwound me.

As I walked around, I considered my life at that moment. Everything was easy and relaxed, but I knew that that was going to change. A visit from Ilookgood99 was never a good sign. I was going to savour the peace while I could. My adventure through RuneScape wasn't over, and I doubted it would end any time soon.

**_THE END_**

* * *

…_and there goes the epilogue! The purpose of this chapter was to tie up some loose ends and answer one or two questions. I hope you found it satisfactory._

_Now, here we go. My final author notes are here at last *sobs quietly*. I am about to go through the past, present and future of this story._

_Now, people ask me why I originally started this story. I originally wrote this in the late spring/early summer of 2008. Back then, I had a love for writing and I really enjoyed RuneScape, so I decided to combine the both. It was a small project at that time, nothing more. Little did I know that it would become a massive, 80+ chapter story. I soon discovered this website, and the thought occurred to me: why don't I upload my story to this website so others can enjoy it?_

_Since then the story has been through its highs and lows. This story has caused me a slight degree of suffering at some points. There was a stage when I had to completely re-upload my story, as some of you will remember. Because of that incident I lost 150-200 reviews. I was recently plagiarised, and I've had numerous other problems with people doing things with my ideas without asking me. Despite all of these problems, though, I persevered with the story and look where it is now! _

_Now I will talk about the present. Basically, here I will credit people who deserve credit in my opinion. If you are reading this then you deserve credit. Thank you for reading this story and contributing to its success! If you've read it from the very start you deserve even bigger credit. Reading a 80+ story takes a lot, so thank you for making the effort. If you've reviewed at all, you also deserve special thanks. You've contributed to the success of this story massively by doing that. However, it's the regular reviewers that deserve the biggest thanks. It's you guys who have encouraged me to carry on._

_There is one particular reviewer who deserves a very special mention. This person is my very first reviewer and offered me my very first piece of advice. I doubt he's still reading this, but I'd like to thank Krall FictionWriter for being my very first reviewer. Thank you very much. I'd also like to congratulate anybody who has won any of my competitions, and thank those who submitted character bios in the early days of the writing of this story and created some of the most recurring characters. I'd like to thank Osrie1 especially for being the first person to request a character._

_That is enough crediting and thanking. Now I will discuss the future. In the rest of 2010, I will write a Thanksgiving special, two to three Christmas special chapters, and, of course, my regular New Year's Day special. Beyond that is unclear. I recall saying I would write a sequel, but now I am not so sure. I will update you about anything new during 2011. This chapter's question is, simply, would you like to see a sequel?_

_Anyway, the story has officially finished now. Here is your cue to pull out your tissues and your violins. Just because 'The Adventure through RuneScape' is done, though, it doesn't necessarily mean that it's the last you will hear from me. I'll update you guys regularly on any news, and, simply… until next time, toodles!_

_P.S. If you have any suggestions involving what Mainiac97 should include in his trophy room (seasonal event rewards don't count) please review/PM me with them._


	83. The Official Character List

_**The Official Character List**_

_Title speaks for itself. Here follows a list of the characters and their owners:_

_Mainiac97 – obviously owned by me._

_Osrie1 – requested by the real Osrie1._

_Capablanca – The roots of this character are kind of confusing to be honest. The character was originally requested by Haru Axe-man on behalf of his friend I believe. However, I have taken such creative licence with the character I believe it's safe to call it mine now. The bio has been completely twisted and changed, and the name has been distorted._

_Amy11 – owned by me._

_Slinky – requested a long time ago by a person whose username started with 'slinky' and ended with some numbers._

_Ilookgood99 – requested by the real Ilookgood99._

_Aaron – owned by me._

_Master Samuel – owned by me._

_James – owned by me._

_MCM (mysterious cloaked man/men) – owned by me._

_King David – owned by me._

_Black Fly – owned by me._

_Brown Beetle – owned by me._

_Pink Butterfly – owned by me._

_Silver Wasp – This character was an entry to my 'make a member of the Demon Clan' character competition, and was the winner. Originally submitted by Haseo the Terror of Death._

_Red Leech(es) – owned by me._

_Mort (the vampire) – owned by me._

_Madrey1 – requested by the real Madrey1._

_Phantom – It may have been requested by Godofmadness, but he may have requested it on behalf of a friend. I can't quite remember, and because of the re-uploading of 'The Adventure through RuneScape' I have no review to refer to. Godofmadness, if you're reading this I would appreciate it if you cleared this up for me. Thanks._

_Rogue – This character was an entry to a character competition I held a while ago, and came fourth place. Originally submitted by Assaultofthedreadnought._

_Haldir6 – requested by Haldir939._

_Haru Axe-man – requested by the real Haru Axeman._

_Creator – requested by a person whose username started with 'creater' then a massive amount of numbers followed. _

_Sin – requested by Sinlimitless._

_Clayguy7 – requested by Onionmaster._

_Elite – I am not 100% sure who originally requested this character, all you need to know is that it wasn't originally created by me. If you created the character please PM me._

_Ballbags32 – originally requested by the real Ballbags32._

_Irish – requested by cody29374._

_Jamie – This character was an entry to a character competition I held a while ago, and was the winner. Originally submitted by Jamie0251._

_Cedric – owned by me._

_Dream Decay – This character was an entry to a character competition I held a while ago, and came third place. Originally submitted by Haseo the Terror of Death. Though he was entered into the contest, he has appeared in Haseo's story before the contest result._

_Ninjamouse1 – This character was an entry to a character competition I held a while ago, and came second place. Originally submitted by Ninjamouse1._

_Mark – originally requested by Godofmadness._

_Story Rover – originally requested or inspired by Krall Fictionwriter._

_Black knight commanders (Roderick, Katrina, Left, Right) – Owned by me._

_Ray and Hope – Owned by me. _

_Tom and Johnny (the explorers in the Stronghold of Security) – owned by me_

_Any characters not mentioned in this list are owned by Jagex. However, if I have forgotten to mention a character that is in the story that you submitted as a character request, or I have claimed your character as mine by accident, please let me know. Or, if I have made any sort of mistake with the list in general, please let me know. Thank you. I will keep the list updated as new characters that belong to me are introduced._

_Also, just for reference, here is a list of the arcs in this fanfiction:_

_Chapter 1-11: Tutorial Island_

_Chapter 12-25: Welcome to Lumbridge!_

_Chapter 26-33: The War of Varrock_

_Chapter 34-52: Breaching Security_

_Chapter 53-72: To Falador and beyond!_

_Chapter 73-80: The Final Fight_

_Chapter 81 onwards: The Epilogue and seasonal specials_

_My question to you today is, out of all of those arcs, which one was your favourite? Please review with your answers!_

_Until next time, toodles!_


	84. Thanksgiving Special 2010

_Hello, hello, hello, what's happenin' readers?_

_First of all, I'd like to apologise for the delay. I've been ill recently, but I've made every effort to bring this special to you. I hope you enjoy it, and if you spot mistakes please point them out to me._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Jagex, RuneScape, or any of the RuneScape characters. All I own is the plot of this fanfiction and some of the characters in the story. I am not making a financial profit from this story._

* * *

_**Thanksgiving Special 2010**_

"Die, beast!" I yelled. I swiped Silverlight towards the turkey. The turkey managed to dodge me. Brown feathers flew everywhere and the creature gave me what looked like a glare. The turkey let off a loud squawking sound, and jumped forward. I held Silverlight out in front of me and the turkey jumped straight through it. It screeched one final time, and slumped to the floor, dead. After a second it disappeared, and a pile of bones and a raw turkey breast materialised. I scooped up my winnings and put them in my bag.

Today was Thanksgiving. On Thanksgiving, turkeys appeared all over RuneScape and remained for a few days afterwards. I quite liked turkey, so I decided to take advantage of the turkeys appearing to take their meat. Turkeys were a lot bigger and more aggressive than chickens, and were a lot harder to kill. They were quite annoying creatures, but they were very delicious. To celebrate Thanksgiving, people all over RuneScape held feasts, usually with turkeys being the main attraction of the feast.

I'd been invited to several different feasts this year. Sir Amik Varze had invited me to the annual white knight Thanksgiving feast. Duke Horacio had also invited me to his feast, and I'd also been invited to the Falador party room feast as a VIP. I'd decided, in the end, to go to Sir Amik Varze's feast. It was being held in the night, so I'd devoted my day to killing turkeys and storing the meat.

I'd recently closed off a second garden in my house, and I wanted to use this garden to keep pets in. I'd captured a turkey to keep as a pet. I figured that, with my pet garden, I wanted some pets it fill it with, and a turkey was a nice place to start with.

At that moment, I was in a clearing near the crossroad where I'd fought the highwayman a while ago. Everywhere else was packed with like-minded people, and it was quite quiet here. I was searching for more wandering turkeys. Just as I was about to go to a different area, I bumped into Osrie1 and Amy11. They told me they both had been looking for me, and that they wanted to go for food in the Lumbridge restaurant.

We passed the famous windmill, and we passed Farmer Fred's house. Farmer Fred was outside, feeding his chickens. He waved to us as we passed.

"Hello!" he called. "I haven't seen you for a long time. I was going to go in for some lunch now. Would you like to come in and join me?" We all nodded enthusiastically, and followed him inside his house. I eyed the chickens nervously. Farmer Fred was attacked by one of these.

We stepped inside his house. Not much had changed since I'd last set foot inside it; there was a sink and a stove in the corner. There was an open door with two small beds and two large cupboards behind it. There was a barrel with a pair of shears on top of it. There was a small table with a stack of plates on it and a small box full of pie dishes next to it.

Farmer Fred pulled several turkey drumsticks from one of his cupboards, and he put them on a saucepan. He put that on the stove, and he turned the stove on. Once the drumsticks were sizzling and the small house was full with the sweet smell of cooking meat, he pulled a small bottle full of some sort of red sauce from one of his cupboards, and he dripped the sauce all over the drumsticks. He gave us two each, smiling.

I took one bite from the drumstick. The sauce had made the already delicious, succulent meat transform into an explosion of tastes and sensations. Both drumsticks had been reduced to bones in seconds. I thanked Farmer Fred repeatedly for the delicious drumsticks.

Just as Farmer Fred was cooking more drumsticks for us, somebody ran in. It was a young Lumbridge guard, who was panting heavily.

"Fred!" he gasped. "Could you please come with me? We have a little emergency in the Lumbridge square and we need all the men we can get." His eyes widened when he saw me. "Mainiac97! I never expected to see you here, of all people! How would you like to come with us? I've heard a lot about you. Judging by what I've heard about you, I can safely assume that you can be our saviour." We all stood up, and followed the guard out the door curiously.

I didn't know what to expect, but I was not expecting to see what I saw in the square. Several absolutely massive turkeys were running around the square, smashing everything and everybody that stood in their way. One of the fountains had collapsed and water was leaking everywhere, while the statue lay on the floor. These turkeys were colossal. They towered above me, and there was enough meat on one turkey to feed two hungry dragons.

Lumbridge guards, citizens, and Glory Troopers were surrounding the gigantic turkeys and trying to attack them. I saw Sin nearby. He was struggling against a particular turkey. This turkey was almost dead but was putting on a tremendous fight. I sent a fire strike at the turkey, and it was enough for Sin to kill the turkey. With a final screech of defeat, the turkey collapsed, and one enormous turkey breast, two gigantic drumsticks, and a large pile of bones materialised. Sin scooped up his winnings. He walked towards me.

"We're having major problems today," Sin grunted. "A dozen of these beefed-up turkeys appeared here in Lumbridge. The turkeys have been extremely destructive, and it's immensely difficult to get rid of them. Turkeys don't normally group and attack like this. The biggest turkey in the centre there is causing the most mayhem."

I nodded seriously. I realised that this turkey attack was no laughing matter, no matter how ridiculous it looked from a distance. If the turkeys got into the castle, there would be problems. If these turkeys started appearing in more towns nobody would be able to tell how much damage they would do.

Osrie1 and I decided to try and approach the big turkey to try and take it out. Together, we managed to take down about two turkeys, but it was very difficult and drained me of loads of hit points. They were so gargantuan doing damage to them was practically impossible. I soon realised, if I was to defeat any of them, I'd have to aim for the neck/face.

I managed to get fairly close to the biggest turkey. While its back was turned, I jumped on its back. It turned around, and grabbed me by the hair with its beak. It shook me around so violently I almost vomited. It threw me up and pecked me aggressively in the back. I heard a click, and pain filled my body. I squealed with pain. I fell on the floor by its feet. It gobbled angrily. It ran towards the Lumbridge castle, and started pecking the wall. Massive chunks of stone were falling to the floor. I was panicking.

I didn't know what to do. Whenever I tried to take down this turkey, it knocked me back. I needed to think of a strategy, and quickly. Suddenly, an idea occurred to me. I used my 'give thanks' emote, and I turned into a small turkey. Gobbling madly, I ran forward, towards the massive turkey. It ignored me. I jumped up and halfway through jumping I turned back into a human.

The giant turkey screeched wildly and tried to attack me. Before it could do anything, I successfully managed to stab it in the neck. With a final cluck, it collapsed into a heap, and transformed into the largest turkey breast I'd seen in my life, along with two gigantic drumsticks. There was also a large beak.

I examined this beak curiously. It was quite sharp, and it fitted around my nose and mouth perfectly. I figured it could make a mask of some sort of I found some string to attach to it. The lot barely fit in my bag. Sin approached me, clapping happily.

"I think you just managed to save the castle," he told me happily. "Now that that particular turkey is gone a large weight has been taken off my chest. We may be able to overpower these turkeys now thanks to your contribution." I high-fived Osrie1. After a little more turkey-killing, Osrie1, Amy11 and I decided to visit Sir Amik Varze and the White Knight Castle. I wanted to help out with their feast.

I showed up and Sir Amik Varze greeted me cordially. He said that if I wanted to help I could help out the chefs. Apparently they were having a disaster. I spent the rest of the day helping out some of the chefs (fetching ingredients, utensils, getting them some additional meat, etc). I donated one of my giant drumsticks from the giant turkey to the feast.

The feast arrived, and it was very, very similar to last year's. It was grander, if possible. A huge table filled most of the hall, and this table was absolutely crammed with the most delicious of foods. Several huge turkeys lay there on large golden platters. Plates of bread, hunks of meat, and several huge platters of vegetables and potatoes covered the table. A band was performing on the stage on the far end, and on the end closer to me the drinks stall was open. People were dancing, eating, drinking, cueing to buy a drink, or talking.

As I sat myself down and helped myself to food, I thought about my day. I'd gathered quite a lot of meat today, probably enough to last me a while. I'd also captured my pet turkey. I was debating with myself over what to call it. However, after the events of today, I was frightened of turkeys. I was already wary of chickens, and then turkeys had to go and rebel. I would soon develop a fear of all birds in general soon.

I didn't know turkeys could grow so big. Turkeys didn't look like creatures that were smart enough to gather together; as a matter of fact, they looked ever so slightly stupid. It was like the chicken that attacked Fred a while ago. It was scary that they were going to attack the Lumbridge castle. If they'd succeeded, goodness knew what destruction could be unleashed. Although I'd enjoyed my Thanksgiving, and I'd gained quite a lot out of it (a lot of meat, a pet turkey, a beak), but I'd learned how truly wicked turkeys could be. They'd seek revenge one day for us eating them. I knew it.

* * *

_I hope you liked that, and I hope you all had a happy Thanksigiving!_

_Let's simply say that I was dissapointed with Jagex's event. The fact is, there was no new event really. They just re-used last year's for those who don't have the emote, so I've taken a lot of creative licence with the event and the rewards. Again, I apologise for the delay. My question to you is, what should I name Mainiac97's turkey? LOL. Please review with your ideas!_

_Expect some Christmas special chapters soon! :D_

_Until next time, toodles!  
_


	85. Christmas Special 2010: Part 1

_Hello, hello, hello, what's happenin' readers?_

_Ho ho ho! Merry Christmas everyone! :D This is the first part of my 2010 Christmas special. If you spot any mistakes, as usual, please point them out to me. Please enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Jagex, RuneScape, or any of the RuneScape characters. All I own is the plot of this fanfiction and some of the characters in the story. I am not making a financial profit from this story._

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_**Christmas Special 2010: Part 1**_

"Here Gobbles," I urged, offering the bird seed to the turkey. He clucked nervously and approached cautiously. After much apparent thinking, Gobbles accepted the bird seed, gobbling happily. As I watched Gobbles, I thought back to Thanksgiving. After the attack of the giant turkeys I'd developed a slight fear of turkeys as well as chickens, but having Gobbles as a pet for all this time had shown me that turkeys weren't worth being scared of. He was a timid and cheerful creature and I enjoyed having him as a pet. I'd decided on the name 'Gobbles' because it was simple, it was suitable for a turkey, and it was comical. I realised how abnormal my pets probably were. I didn't know of anybody else who kept spiders and turkeys as pets.

Christmas was approaching, the weather was slowly getting colder and colder and the air was thick with festive spirit. I loved it. The Halloween shop in Lumbridge had become a Christmas shop, and they were selling a massive variety of festive foods and decorations. I'd bought myself a box of gold and silver tinsel, a model of Santa, some stockings, and magical lights to decorate my house with. I'd also covered my garden with snow from my snow globe.

The shop was also selling Christmas trees, but the shopkeeper told me that, years ago, an event reward was a special type of Christmas tree, and I'd be better off waiting for the event so I could claim mine from Diango.

Recently it had started snowing, and Port Sarim was covered with a fresh sheet of pure white snow. It was truly beautiful. The White Knight Castle moat had frozen, and I'd been practicing skating on the ice. I'd mastered it now, and I skated gracefully across the ice while other people slipped and fell.

Port Sarim was really getting into the Christmas spirit. Tinsel and lights hung between the houses, and everybody was wearing Christmas clothes. You could see the Christmas trees inside houses as you passed them. Several beautiful trees covered with lights and baubles had been set up around the village. The port looked like it had jumped out of a Christmas card.

Just as I was considering building a snowman to pass the time, something cold and wet hit me in the back. I turned around, and I saw Amy11 grinning happily at me. Standing next to her was Capablanca and Osrie1.

"Hello," I greeted them. I went up to them, hugged Amy11, high-fived Osrie1, and patted Capablanca on the back. "What brings you to my house? I thought you were working." I asked Capablanca politely.

"Well, dear noob, I have the day off," Capablanca replied. "The white knights have nothing to do, and everybody is lolling around. Since Master Samuel is dead and the dark forces have retreated, nothing major has been happening. There is still a little bit of crime, but nothing that requires a lot of white knights. People are still on patrol, but there's nothing going on, so several people, including me, have been sent home. I was wondering if you wanted to go skating." I accepted, and we left my house.

We walked down the snow-covered streets of Port Sarim, playfully chucking snowballs at each other. It felt just like old times, when it was just Amy11, Osrie1, Capablanca, and I. we passed a window and I surveyed my reflection. I'd changed so much since my early days exploring Lumbridge. I'd been through so much it was expected.

I eyed my white knight armour proudly. It was an honour to have the right of wearing such a beautiful and powerful set of armour. I also examined my belt. I had my special steel sword, Silverlight, my barbarian stone hammer, a white knight kiteshield, and my jewellery pouch on it altogether. I'd cut down heavily on my weapons, only carrying what I felt was necessary. Silverlight had been my favourite sword since I'd won it. It was a marvellous weapon, and I loved it dearly.

We passed several wonky snowmen, groups of children playing in the snow, and decorations. But, there was one thing we weren't expecting to pass. We passed a tall, open cupboard standing in the middle of the street. Snow and white light poured from it, and a snow imp stood by it. I remembered the cupboard from last year, and I knew it led to the Land of Snow. I approached the snow imp, who brought back many memories of great feasts, thick snow, Scrooge, Jack Frost, Santa, skating, snowball fights, presents, and much more. I almost felt a tear come to my eye as I was struck by memory after memory.

"Excuse me, but where does this cupboard lead?" I inquired.

"Well, it leads to the Heimland Games, but there's been a few problems, and it will be delayed," the snow imp replied. "Come back in a few hours." I nodded, disappointed. Just as I turned around to leave, the snow imp let out a cry. "Wait!" He yelled. "I recognise you from somewhere." His eyes narrowed, and he stared at me for a second. A look of realisation flew across his face. "You're Mainiac97!" he shouted. "You've been a great help these past few years. I've also heard word of your deeds in Falador. You may be able to help us. Come in." I thanked the snow imp, and I threw myself into the cupboard head-first.

A gust of cold wind picked me up. I was forced to close my eyes is I was blinded by light and snowflakes. The freezing cold winds howled in my ears as I was carted away by it. I soon found myself in a pile of snow. I heard several thumps around me as Osrie1, Amy11 and Capablanca arrived.

I looked up at my surroundings. We were in a very large area enclosed by evergreen trees. Snow covered the ground and it still fell thick and fast. On the left side of the enclosed area there was a large metal fence that seemed to lead to another enclosure. There were two more gates in front of us and on the right side. We were surrounded by three large gated enclosures with nothing in them. Snow imps and people ran left and right.

Standing on a wooden stand was an ice imp who was shouting commands in an icy loud-speaker, similar to the one I had from last year. We approached him and I tapped him on the foot. He turned around to face him.

"Excuse me," I said. "Could you explain to me what's going on here?"

"Of course I can, Mainiac97," the imp smiled. "You see, there is a Fremennik man who calls himself Thorvar Crittersmash. He isn't a normal Fremennik person, though. He is fat, jolly and he loves Christmastime. He looks suspiciously like Santa Claus. He lives in Daemonheim, which is a very dark, dangerous and mysterious place. Every year he tries to bring some Christmas joy to the Fremennik people, who are strong, cold and proud people. He starts the Heimland Games, and he usually holds them in Rellekka, but there's never enough snow and the games are usually called off early.

"To combat this problem, Thorvar Crittersmash contacted the Ice Queen and asked if he could hold the Heimland Games in the Land of Snow and to extend them further than just Fremennik people. She let him use this plot of land for the games. She also sent snow imps to help him, and promised to set up cupboards in key communities in RuneScape so people could partake in the Heimland Games if they paid."

"What are the Heimland Games?" I asked. The snow imp chuckled.

"The Heimland Games are a set of activities that people can take part in with other people," the snow imp replied. "The activities are exciting. Activities include snowman building, snowball fights, sledding, and even seal sliding. You can earn tokens by taking part in (and sometimes winning) different tournaments and competitions, and these tokens can be exchanged for seasonal food, skate and sled accessories, and an invitation to the exclusive Heimland feast which will take part in that enclosure over there." He pointed to the gate to our right.

"So, what is the problem?" I asked.

"Thorvar was supposed to come here with all the necessary building materials so we could set the games up," the snow imp explained. "He was supposed to come an hour ago, but he never did. He was meant to meet up with a snow imp on the docks of Daemonheim, but neither of them returned. We're really confused. If he doesn't show up with those materials the Heimland games can't go ahead as planned, and it would take too long to get some new materials. Besides, Thorvar is the man who's arranging the whole thing. If he's missing then there's no hope."

"Would you like me to help you look for Thorvar?" I asked kindly. "I'd be happy to help." The snow imp stared at me, wide-eyed.

"Daemonheim is an extremely dangerous place," he whispered. "You'd need to be extremely careful. Are you sure?" I nodded. "OK. You are Mainiac97, and you've never failed to save Christmas before. We need somebody strong and reliable like you and your friends to help us find Thorvar. But, don't put yourself in danger for the sake of some Fremennik gaming event! Unknown dangers lurk on that island in the middle of nowhere, so be extremely careful. I'll send some snow imps to accompany you. We were going to send out a search team, but having some humans accompany them could prove beneficial." He whistled, and three snow imps appeared. He explained the situation to them and they agreed to come with us. "I'll teleport you there on the count of three." He counted down, and showered us with what looked like blue sparks. A small portal appeared in front of us, and we were dragged through.

We experienced the uncomfortable sensation of being teleported. It felt like we were being compressed through a small black tunnel. After a minute, we appeared somewhere else.

We were standing on a dock of some sort. Some small boats surrounded us, and lonely fishermen fished by the edge. I looked down, and noticed that the planks were rotting and we were far above pointy rocks and crashing waved. I gulped, and stepped onto a path. I surveyed my surroundings.

Everything here seemed miserable. The sky was grey and depressing. In front of us there was a massive flight of stone steps leading upwards. It led so far upwards we couldn't see what was at the top. To our left was a path leading towards a small, dismal village of some sort. To our right there was a path that led up to what looked like a mountainous and cliffy region, as well as a path that led down to a stony beach.

We scanned the area for some sign of Thorvar Crittersmash, but we didn't see him. We decided to go up the stone steps to look for him. Someone cried for us to stop. We turned around to see that one of the fishermen had stood up and was holding his hand up.

"Are you insane?" he demanded. "You're nowhere near prepared enough to go up there! Those are the dangerous Daemonheim dungeons and you can't simply skip in there. Only true Fremennik people and barbarians can go up there. You'd be a fool to enter unprepared. I'd speak to somebody in the Daemonheim village before walking those steps."

"I'm sorry. We had no intention of snooping in any dungeons. You see, we're looking for a certain Thorvar Crittersmash," I explained. "We were wondering where he was."

"Thorvar?" the fisherman repeated. "I saw him here a little earlier. He was carrying a massive sack over his shoulder, and he seemed to be waiting. He waited here for about ten minutes before walking to the mountainous region over there." He pointed to the path on our right. "Then one of those strange little creatures came and waited for a while." He pointed towards one of the snow imps, who looked offended at being referred to as a 'strange little creature'. "The creature asked me if I'd seen him, and I told him about Thorvar going up to the mountainous regions. The creature followed him. That was a while ago, though, and I've seen neither since." We thanked the fisherman profusely, and followed the path that Thorvar and the snow imp had allegedly followed earlier.

The higher we walked, the colder the air became. I was chilled to the bone. We were walking along a very high and perilous cliff edge, and the sea far below roared and crashed, unwelcoming. We were surrounded by uninviting rocks. We occasionally passed dark caverns that promised certain death. I shivered. I hoped we could leave Daemonheim soon.

We passed an especially large cave entrance that caught our attention. Icicles hung from the top of the cave, and an especially chilly air blew from its depths. I noticed something by my feet, and I stooped down to pick it up. It was a black glove with fluffy white cuffs. It looked like one of Santa's gloves. There was a little bit of blood on it. It looked like there had been a struggle of some sort. I handed it to one of the snow imps, who examined it closely.

"This glove could belong to Thorvar," the imp whispered. "It could belong to anybody with a Santa costume in theory, but Thorvar was supposed to be in this area." We heard a scream of help come from within the caves. "That sounds like Thorvar," one of the imps said. "Let's go and investigate." Everyone walked inside the cave and I reluctantly followed.

We followed the cave for a while before we walked into an opening. The cave we were now in was full of icicles on the floor. They twinkled and glowed many colours, but there were cracks in them and some had been completely smashed. A stone switch lay on the floor, cracked in half. An open door stood behind them, but it was also slightly cracked and it looked like it had been forced open. Someone had obviously been here before us, and there'd obviously been a fight or a struggle of some sort. The clues were adding up. We decided to go through this door.

We walked into another cave. This cave was empty apart from a statue of an angel in the centre. A fresh sheet of snow covered the floor. Somebody or something had obviously been in here previously because there were markings in the snow. The cave wall on the far end had collapsed, revealing an opening.

We started walking across this cave when the stone angel statue turned around. The eyes of the statue were red. Suddenly, the energy was sapped from my body. I fell onto the floor. I was slowly losing my energy. I didn't have enough energy to stand properly, let alone move. I found crawling difficult. This angel statue seemed to be the cause of this loss of energy. A cold, harsh wind blew through the cave, whipping up the snow on the floor. This created a blizzard effect.

I figured that if I could do something to the angel we'd be able to flee. I began crawling slowly but steadily towards the angel. It was very difficult; I found it difficult enough as is was because of my sudden energy loss without the blizzard pushing against me. I finally arrived at the angel and I made an effort to push it over. It let off a screeching sound and an unexpected force blasted me backwards. I soon realised that the pushing approach wasn't going to work.

I examined the room closely. I soon noticed several pointy rocks and icicles that hung overhead the stone angel. I mustered as much energy as I could and I sent an array of spells towards the rocks. It smashed a few icicles but the rocks didn't budge.

"Cast some spells at those rocks overhead the angel," I shouted to the others over the wind. They all nodded and began sending spells at the rocks. I joined them. Sooner or later, all of the spells had their effect on the rocks and the angel was buried under a small landslide. Our energy returned, the winds stopped, and we were able to stand up. We approached the buried angel cautiously. I pulled some of the rocks off and we saw that the angel had been severely cracked by the landslide. The red in the angel's eyes were faltering but they were still there. I smashed the angel to pieces using Silverlight and my stone hammer.

We continued through the next entrance, slightly shaken after the encounter with the stone angel. We heard another cry of help from further in the cave. We appeared in a tunnel. It was a fairly long tunnel, and it was mostly empty. However, the floor was covered with a thick sheet of shiny ice. It was lucky that Osrie1, Capablanca and I already had skates because we received them last year. However, Amy11 didn't have any. The snow imps had the ability to skate across ice without skates. We all put our skates on, and I agreed to help Amy11 across the ice. She took my hand, and struggled not to slip while I skated gracefully across the ice. I laughed as she clung onto my arm like it was a lifeline.

Just as I was about to skate back onto dry land at the other end of the tunnel, something large, white and fluffy jumped onto my back. I collapsed onto the ice, bringing Amy11 down with me. I pushed my attacker onto the floor. It was a creature of some sort. The creature opened its mouth (revealing yellowing sharp teeth) and let out a roar. It jumped back onto me and sunk its teeth deep into my shoulder. I bellowed with pain and shook it off. It dug long claws into my leg, and I hissed. I kicked it and struck it with Silverlight. It continued attacking me, unfazed.

I hit it again and dark, thick blood spilled onto the ice. It let out another roar, but this roar wasn't as loud as its previous roars. The snow imps all jumped forward and hit the creature with their little swords. I cast a fire spell at the creature, severely hurting it. The creature was soon overpowered and it fell on the floor, dead.

"That creature is a very young yeti," the snow imp said sadly. "They can be ferocious at the worst of times, but it is the parents we must watch out for. If there are young yetis here then there must also be fully grown yetis here as well. Be careful."

We continued through the tunnel, arriving at yet another opening to another tunnel. We walked through this tunnel, staring around us nervously. We were half-expecting another yeti to jump from nowhere. We arrived at the end of this tunnel, but there was no opening. A wall stood in front of us. We inspected the area for openings. We found one, but it had been caved in and was unstable. Someone had obviously been through here before but had collapsed the hole they'd created.

"We're going to have to mine through this wall," one imp told us grimly. "We could easily blast it open with magic, but that would be foolish. It could kill us through two ways. It could cause a cave-in, or it could cause a lot of noise and could possibly wake up this adult yeti. So we need to mine through it." I nodded, and pulled out my pickaxe. Everybody followed suit, and the snow imps created makeshift pickaxes made form ice. We all began mining.

For me, it was fairly easy mining through the wall. I'd had a lot of experience in the dwarf mines and I contributed to destroying several segments of the wall. Sooner or later, we had a fairly large opening in the wall. We walked through, to be faced with a very short tunnel. It was very dark in this tunnel, and at the end there was another opening. We could hear strange, strange noises coming through this opening. These noises included hisses, yells, and clinking. We continued towards this opening, confused.

I found something white and fluffy lying on the floor. It was a young yeti! I approached it cautiously. I thought it was sleeping. I soon realised it wasn't breathing, and there was blood on it.

"Something's attacked this yeti," Capablanca whispered. We heard a roar come from the opening. "It looks like we'll find our attacker." We walked through the opening and, whatever we were expecting; we were not expecting what we saw.

* * *

_...and that concludes part 1 of my Christmas special! Part 2 will be coming fairly soon. _

_This event is loosely based off Jagex's Christmas special, but I've made massive changes to plot, characters and context. I hope you enjoyed it regardless._

_Involving the turkey's name, the name 'Gobbles' was submitted by an anonymous reviewer. I picked it because of the reasons pointed out in the story: simple, suitable, comical. I laughed at every single name, but this one seemed like the most logical one to pick. _

_I wish each and every one of you a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year! I will also be writing a New Year's Day special when the new year comes, and I'll talk some more about 2011 in that._

_Until next time, toodles!  
_


	86. Christmas Special 2010: Part 2

_Hello, hello, hello, what's happenin' readers?_

_Here is the result of last chapter's cliffhanger and the second part of the two-part Christmas special. I hope you all had a merry Christmas, and, as usual, if any mistakes are spotted please inform me. Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Jagex, RuneScape, or any of the RuneScape characters. All I own is the plot of this fanfiction and some of the characters in the story. I am not making a financial profit from this story._

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_**Christmas Special 2010: Part 2**_

We were in the largest cavern so far. In front of us, there was a frozen lake. In the middle of the lake, there was a fairly large island which was covered with snow. A large, fat man dressed in a Santa suit stood on this island. The only differences were that he wore a helmet instead of a Santa hat, and his beard was a little greyer than Santa's snow-white beard. He was covered with cuts and bruises and his clothes were slightly ripped. I could safely assume that this man was Thorvar. A gargantuan sack stood on the floor next to him. There was a snow imp standing on his shoulder.

Strange creatures that looked like overgrown crabs with green growths on the shell were attacking Thorvar. He was putting up an excellent fight. He was knocking these crab-like creatures left and right. More crabs were coming, either falling from the ceiling or crawling from a hole in the ice. Far behind the island, on the other side of this lake, there was another opening that led deeper into the dungeon, but I doubted we'd need to go through there now that we'd found Thorvar.

Just as we went to skate across the ice to help Thorvar a strange force picked us up and carried us upwards. I struggled against this force, confused. I heard a cackle from behind me. This force turned me around, and I was faced with Jack Frost.

He hadn't changed much since I'd last encountered him. He was still tall and gangly. His clothes were black and, as usual, he was covered with snow and icicles. His long, black hair was frozen solid. Icicles were growing on his skin.

"So we meet again, Mainiac97," Jack Frost sneered. "Don't even think of teleporting. I've cast a teleportation blocking spell."

"Jack!" I yelled. "What are you doing? What's happening? Explain yourself!"

"It's fairly simple," Jack Frost snickered. "These crabs are Heim crabs and are native to Daemonheim. They have been commanded to attack Thorvar, that imp, and anybody else that impedes their attack. I haven't possessed them; I don't stoop to that level. I have simply used some basic hypnotising techniques on them.

"I understood that Thorvar was meant to be meeting up with a snow imp to take some building materials to the Heimland Games. I discovered a secluded, icy cave/dungeon in the mountainous areas and I cast the hypnotic spells on the crabs. Heim crabs are normally fairly small, but these crabs are a special breed of Heim crab that are much bigger and much more dangerous in groups.

"I waited until I saw him waiting for the imp, and I tempted him up to the mountains and the cliffs with noises that would have attracted his curiosity. He went up to the mountains and I got the crabs to ambush him and, with my help, I got them to carry him deep into the caves. The imp followed us, following the directions of an old fisherman. This particular dungeon can be very hazardous at times, and we struggled slightly getting here. You can see this when you pass through the cavern full of icicles."

"Why would you want to do such a thing to Thorvar?" I demanded. "You've potentially ruined the Heimland Games!"

"I loathe the Heimland Games, and I loathe Fremennik people and barbarians in general," Jack Frost hissed. "I think they're obnoxious, proud, horrible people. I wasn't very happy when I heard that their winter games were going to be held in the Land of Snow. This is my way of expressing it."

"Why do you hate the Fremennik people?" I questioned angrily. "Perhaps you don't agree with their way of life, but this is not the way to express it."

"A friend of mine lost his life because of those barbaric people!" Jack Frost exclaimed. "You just have to walk into their villages to see how violent and obnoxious they are! I simply cannot stand them!"

I grappled some more against the force that was holding me upwards, but I failed. I glared daggers at Jack Frost, who was grinning evilly at Thorvar. I really hated him; I couldn't put it into words. He hated the Fremennik people for no good reason, so he was content with wrecking their Christmas event. It annoyed me to see him get away with such treachery. I thought he was a wicked person before, and today he'd secured my opinion of him.

The force that was holding me up seemed to disappear, and I fell among the Heim crabs. They instantly turned on me, hissing and snapping. I smashed Silverlight into a few, sending them flying backwards. One managed to strike me across the cheek, creating a large scar. I kicked it away. It attempted to hit me again, but I successfully sent Silverlight flying through it. It fell back, dead.

This pattern continued, and I began growing tired. I never let down my defence. I soon began looking for means of escape. I saw an opening in the sea of crabs, and I fought through them to get to it. I soon realised I was on ice, and I slipped. I tried to get to my skates in my bag, but more crabs jumped on me and I couldn't.

At one stage a particularly large crab jumped onto my back and clung onto it for dear life. I tried to buck it off, but it didn't budge. I managed to elbow it off after much fighting. It pounced again and slashed my arm with its sharp pincers. Blood began leaking from the wound. I screeched in pain. I charged towards it with Silverlight, but it knocked Silverlight out of my grasp and into the crowd of Heim crabs. I cursed, and I tried forcing myself through the crabs to recover it, but the massive crab held me back by grabbing my belt. I spun around and kicked the crab. Nothing happened. I pulled my hammer out furiously.

The brawl continued for a while before I finally managed to reclaim Silverlight and finish the gargantuan crab off. I soon grew very weary of fighting and I found myself gasping for breath. I eyed Thorvar, who was relentless in his attempt to escape. I envied him in that respect. I watched Jack Frost hover above us as we continued battling for our lives. He was giggling.

I could see the logic in Jack Frost's plan. We would soon collapse of tiredness and he'd have the option of leaving us to die, or taking us elsewhere. I imagined that either way he'd dispose of the building supplies for the Heimland Games.

I searched and searched for ways of escape. We'd never be able to kill all of the crabs. There seemed to be an infinite amount of them.

A crab leaped upwards and tried pounding my face, but I kicked to the floor. I smashed Silverlight straight through it and I heard unpleasant crunching sounds. I removed Silverlight and kicked the crab aside. My heart dropped. I'd stabbed the crab too hard, and it had gone straight through and cracked the ice! The ice seemed very sturdy, because it could hold the weight of many, many crabs as well as several humans and imps, but I'd obviously gone too far. The crack spread right throughout the lake until the surface was entirely covered with cracks.

There was a second of silence, which was broken with a gigantic smashing noise. The whole lake lurched to one side as the layer of ice smashed. Many crabs got caught up underneath and fell to the bottom of the lake. Luckily, I was standing on a large piece of ice and I managed to hold my ground.

I gestured to the others that we should probably leave. The imps, agile as ever, jumped back towards the cave opening that we'd come through. I followed suit, slipping and evading death many times. I arrived, and Amy11, Capablanca, and Osrie1 arrived not soon after. We turned around and saw Thorvar swimming through the water and ice. He was balancing his sack on his back so it didn't get wet. I marvelled at his amazing strength. I figured that he was used to it, since he was a Fremennik.

We spotted Jack Frost pursuing us. We turned to leave the cave swiftly, but we stopped in our tracks when we heard a sonorous roar. The roof of the cave began crumbling, and a colossal white hairy creature fell through the roof and onto the island. I assumed it was the fully-grown yeti. It was a terrifying creature, with long yellow teeth, enormous hands, and a loud roar. It smashed its fist into the floor, causing a small tremor.

It began grabbing and eating Heim crabs that hadn't fallen into the icy water. It spotted us, snarled, and jumped into the water. It flew through the water towards us in several strokes. Jack Frost panicked and started sending spells towards it. The spells glanced off it. It grew angry, grabbed Jack Frost, and smashed him into a nearby wall. Jack Frost fell to the floor, unconscious. Thorvar threw him over his shoulders. We immediately began fleeing the cave. The yeti pursued.

The yeti chased us, collapsing walls around it in its rage. We appeared in the cave that we'd mined through. The yeti flew through, and the whole wall collapsed, causing massive tremors. The whole cave was now shaking around us, and large chunks of rock were falling. I was almost knocked unconscious at one point.

We ran into the tunnel with the floor that was covered with ice. We didn't have any time to stop and put skates on, so we simply skidded across the ice, trying not to fall. We didn't need to, though; the yeti jumped in, jumped on the ice, and all of the ice cracked, making it easier to get through.

We fled into the cave with the stone angel. Gigantic chunks of rock were falling from the roof. This cave was in the process of disintegrating. We continued running into the cave with the broken stone switch and the smashed icicles. The yeti continued chasing us. The yeti literally jumped through the cave wall to get to us. The whole cave system was crumbling around us. We fled the cave just in time, before everything collapsed behind us, burying the yeti and destroying the cave.

We fell to the floor, gasping for breath and sighing with relief. We were alive, safe, and Thorvar was with us.

We all looked at the unconscious Jack Frost with disgust. We all cast bind spells on him, and the snow imps cast a teleportation blocking spell on him. He soon regained consciousness, and began yelling at us. The snow imps silenced him.

"I must say, thank you very much for saving me, my imp friend, and the supplies," Thorvar thanked. "I'd probably be either still fighting, unconscious or dead right now if it weren't for you. Now we can return these building materials and the Heimland Games can go on as planned." He opened his sack and gasped with surprise. A Heim crab crawled out. We all pulled out our weapons warily, but Thorvar put his hand up and we stepped back.

"This Heim crab won't harm anybody," he laughed. "For one, it's a solitary crab. If it tried we could all pile it and easily kill it. It's no longer under Jack Frost's hypnotic spell so it has no reason to harm anybody." Thorvar knelt down and petted the creature, which showed signs of happiness. "Does anybody want to keep this crab as a pet?" Thorvar asked. "We can't take it back in there, and I've already got some Heim crabs. However, if nobody else wants it I can keep it." Everybody stepped back.

I examined the creature pitifully. Nobody wanted to keep it because they were inclined to believe it was harmful, or disgusting. I actually found it quite cute when it wasn't trying to kill me. I stepped forward, and petted it. Thorvar grinned at me happily.

"What do Heim crabs eat?" I asked.

"Crabs aren't fussy. They'll eat whatever they can find that's edible, mostly dead fish remains and such." Thorvar replied. "In general, though, they'll eat algae, molluscs, fungi, and worms. The fishing shop in Daemonheim sells pots of specialised crab food. I can get you some if you want." He fished in his pocket, and produced a pot with an image of a crab on the side. He opened the pot, and a small amount of green-brown flakes fell into his hand. He offered these flakes to the crab, which jumped up eagerly and began sucking up the flakes with its mouth. He offered the pot to me, and I pocketed it.

We chatted with each other and recovered from the events of the cave. I asked Thorvar whether the cave was a dungeon, and he told me that it was a minor dungeon. It wasn't an 'official' dungeon. He told me that the 'official' Daemonheim dungeons were much more difficult and much more dangerous. I accepted his response. I now understood why the fisherman yelled at me when I went to climb the stone stairs earlier.

The snow imps teleported us back to the games. When people spotted Thorvar everybody burst into applause and crowded around us. The crab stayed close to my feet and followed me. The lead imp with the icy loudspeaker took the bag and began removing the contents. Thorvar ushered us through the gate on our right into a different enclosure. In this enclosure there was a very long table with countless chairs by it. A large Christmas tree stood on the far end. There was a smaller enclosure on the far end behind the tree, and I assumed it was a kitchen of some sort. Snow imps ran back and forth, but it wasn't as crowded as the main enclosure.

"This is an exclusive feast enclosure," Thorvar explained. "Nobody can enter here freely. To enter this enclosure you must have a very special ticket that can be bought with the tokens won in tournaments and competitions. This ticket will also allow you free entry into the Heimland Games. I'd like to offer the four of you these tickets because you've proven yourselves worthy of entering the feast." I nodded. He gave us a ticket each, which we pocketed.

"I didn't tell you to come in here specifically to tell you about this enclosure, though," Thorvar laughed. "I want to reward all four of you." I looked at Osrie1, Amy11 and Capablanca staring up at Thorvar excitedly. Thorvar produced several small snowman models from his pocket. "These are called Heimland souvenirs," Thorvar told us. "They can do many things. Point them upwards and shake them." I shook mine, and it glowed for a few seconds. Several snowballs suddenly exploded from it and flew into the air. Several snow imps shouted at us as snowballs rained down upon them.

"Point it towards someone and shake once," Thorvar commanded. I pointed it towards Capablanca and shook once. A snowball flew towards Capablanca at very high speed. He spluttered indignantly. "Also, if you tap a snowman with it you'll get a pleasant surprise." We all thanked Thorvar for the gifts.

"Here's another reward," Thorvar said. He handed us all a sled each. These weren't massive sleds, like Santa's. These were the portable ones that people could sit in. The sleds were made out of sleek, strong wood. There was enough room on the sled for two people. It was quite large and heavy but I could manage to carry it. "You can use that on the sledding slopes in the Heimland Games, or it could be used on any icy/snowy slopes. I felt it would be more convenient for you if you had these, instead of renting the creaky pieces of scrap wood the imps at the slope have to offer." We all thanked Thorvar. "Come back in here in an hour and the games should be officially open," Thorvar informed us. "Oh, also, now that you've used the souvenir you should have the ability to use a brand new emote. This emote is called the 'seal of approval'. Think about a seal and concentrate on that picture of a seal. Fill your heart with the will to use this emote, like your life depends on it." I obliged, and suddenly I transformed into a seal. I let off a strange noise, and I slipped around for a few seconds before I transformed back into a human. I sighed with relief.

I left the Heimland Games with my pet Heim crab and I then teleported back to my house. I spent the next hour building a gated enclosure for my Heim crab in my pet garden. I saw Gobbles the turkey eyeing the Heim crab suspiciously. I also spent some time trying to come up with a creative name for the crab. I returned to Diango from Draynor to claim two previous rewards. I claimed the only two remaining rewards: a special Christmas tree called a 'Wintumber tree' which glittered, and a marionette puppet. I set up the tree in my house, and I soon decided to go back to the Heimland Games to see if everything was ready.

I approached the cupboard, flashed my ticket, and the imp there allowed me entry. When I stepped into the Heimland Games I was pleasantly surprised. In the centre of the gated enclosures there was a gigantic Christmas tree. There were three big gated enclosures. The first one was filled with snow and barriers constructed from snow. People were throwing snowballs at each other and hiding behind the barriers.

In the second enclosure, a sheet of ice covered the floor, and people were skating in the ice. Near this enclosure there was a little stall with a snow imp behind it. Behind the snow imp skates were piled up. The third one was also filled with snow, but this snow was being used to make snowmen instead. There was a box nearby which was filled with different hats and scarves for the snowmen.

I walked past the gates to my left and I appeared at the top of a very high hill. I couldn't see the bottom. There was a small hut nearby and I spotted sleds piled up inside. People were jumping on their sleds and speeding down the hill. There was a footpath on the far side of the hill so people could get off at a lower point. I could see people walking up these footpaths.

I walked back into the main enclosure, and I walked through the final gate into the enclosure I hadn't explored yet. In front of me there were several long paths covered with ice with obstacles on them. On the side nearest to me, people were touching a blue orb and turning into seals. They then slid across the ice, trying to avoid the obstacles.

I approached the blue orb nervously. I touched it, and I felt my body morph. I turned into a seal. I slid across the ice on a lopsided angle. I slipped and slid, almost smashing into obstacles such as snow piles, rocks, pits, trees and scrap wood. I realised that I'd require some practice at the seal-sliding game. I finally arrived at the other end. There was a portal. I went through the portal and appeared back at the start in human form.

There was such a large array of possible activities to do here. I decided to build a snowman. I remembered trying to build a snow-Mainiac97 last year, so I did the same again this year. I tried to reconstruct myself, only ending up horribly destroying my snow-Mainiac97. I stared forlornly at the disgusting creature I'd built, as the people around me roared with laughter. I brutally murdered the snow-Mainiac97 and replaced it with a classic snowman. I gave this snowman a top hat and a nice scarf. I tapped the snowman with my souvenir, and the snowman came to life! I watched with glee as the snowman moved around and danced.

The next few days were mostly spent in the Heimland Games. I could never get tired of sledding down the hill, skating across the ice, and practicing seal-sliding. I won many snow-balling and sledding competitions, earning me many tokens. I was taking part in a skating tournament. I'd bought some red paint for my sled and some candy canes using my tokens. I ate at the feast in the Heimland Games on a daily rate.

I also met the Ice Queen and Santa, who feasted with us on Christmas Eve. Santa thanked me for helping save the Heimland Games and promised that he'd give me a present on Christmas Day. The Ice Queen informed me that Jack Frost had been punished severely. I didn't know what that meant. Thorvar also showed up at the Christmas Eve feast. Seeing Santa stand next to Thorvar unnerved me. The similarities were uncanny.

I received many, many gifts on Christmas Day. A very large sack sat by the end of my bed in the morning. I hoped my sack hadn't given Santa any back problems. I received a lot of money from people I barely knew. Altogether I'd gained over 100k from different people. Santa and the Ice Queen sent me a box of Christmas food. Sir Amik Varze sent me an armour-polishing set, and Duke Horacio sent me an experience lamp. Farmer Fred sent me some fruit and vegetables as usual, and the Glory Troopers worked together to buy me a diamond-studded mirror.

Thorvar sent me many pots of food for my Heim crab. The white knights (Jamie and Capablanca mainly) bought me a white woodcutting axe and a pickaxe made from the same metal as white knight armour. Osrie1 gave me several booklets full of vouchers and Amy11 bought me some cutlery and some glasses.

I also received my annual greasy package from the Noob Exterminators. I didn't open it, I burned it instead. I didn't know what they sent me because when I burned it I heard a screech and I smelled something acrid.

My most memorable present, though, was a very surprising present from King Roald of Varrock. It was an envelope, with a piece of glossy paper inside, which read:

_To Mainiac97,_

_You are cordially invited to our New Year's feast in the Varrock Palace. Join us at 9:00pm on New Year's Eve for a night of feasting, festivity and fireworks. A special firework will be lit and will set off on the New Year. You are also invited to bring two friends with you. _

_Yours sincerely, King Roald and Queen Ellamaria_

I was looking forward to meeting King Roald and enjoying the feast. I didn't need to think too much about which two friends I was going to bring with me (although they probably received invitations as well because they played key roles in the war in Falador).

I lay in my bed, chatting animatedly with Eek and admiring my presents. I'd also sent out presents, and I hoped everybody appreciated my presents.

I really liked this year's Christmas event rewards. Altogether, I'd received my pet Heim crab, the Heimland souvenir, my sled, the 'seal of approval' emote, and my two previous event rewards from Diango (these being the Wintumber tree and the marionette puppet).

After a while, I got dressed and left for the Heimland Games. They were holding a gigantic feast later today. I entered the cupboard, looking forward to a day of sledding, skating, feasting and generally enjoying. It had been a great Christmas, and I looked forward to the New Year.

* * *

_I hope that was to your liking. As I pointed out in the previous chapter, this Christmas special was loosely based on the Jagex Christmas 2010 special, but I've made major changes to plot, characters and context._

_I have two questions for you. My first question is, what should Mainiac97 name his Heim crab? This question is similar to the Thanksigiving special's question. I will pick my favourite suggestion as the crab's new name. _

_My second question is, so far, what has been your favourite out of my seasonal specials? I'm curious to find out because your feedback now will help me adjust future event special chapters accordingly._

_The next chapter will be my New Year's Day special, which will be coming fairly soon. You can guess the setting from what I've said in this chapter._

_Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Until next time, toodles!  
_


	87. New Year Special 2011

_Hello, hello, hello, what's happenin' readers?_

_A Happy New Year to you all! I hope you enjoy this special. Remember as usual, if you spot any mistakes and typos in this chapter please notify me. Thanks._

_Also, just a side-note, the creator of the character 'Ninjamouse1' (who shares the same username) has written a short story which explores the history of the character a little. He is an amazing writer and if you're interested in the character I highly suggest you read the story when you have a moment. Also, I have updated the contents of my profile if anybody is interested.  
_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Jagex, RuneScape, or any of the RuneScape characters. All I own is the plot of this fanfiction and some of the characters in the story. I am not making a financial profit from this story._

_JAGEX DOES NOT MAKE NEW YEAR EVENTS. The event in this chapter was created by me. Thank you.  
_

* * *

_**New Year Special 2011**_

I walked through the streets of Varrock nervously. It was getting dark. I was currently wearing my best bottle-blue suit. I clutched my party invitation in my hand. I'd bought a cheap leather sheathe that I could keep Silverlight in, just in case. I remembered attending an Easter party a year or so ago, and I remembered that I needed a weapon back then.

I was currently accompanied by Osrie1, Amy11, Sir Amik Varze and four of his bodyguards, one of which was Capablanca. On Christmas I'd received an exclusive party invitation to a New Year party hosted by King Roald of Varrock. Osrie1, Sir Amik Varze and Amy11 had also been given invitations. Sir Amik Varze was permitted to bring bodyguards with him because he was an important ruler. I had been permitted to bring two friends with me, but I didn't know who to bring with me because Amy11 and Osrie1 had already been invited (they played crucial roles in the war in Falador).

Christmas had been a fantastic time for me. The entire day had been devoted to eating, drinking, celebrating, and generally enjoying. The Heimland Games were still open and were holding a New Year's celebration, but I decided to attend this one instead because I couldn't miss the opportunity to meet King Roald.

In the end I had decided to name my pet Heim crab Heimlich. I felt it was a very appropriate name, considering what species of crab Heimlich was.

I hadn't been in Varrock for over a year, and it had changed a lot in the past year. I blamed the possession of the animals and the supposed zombie attacks from the wilderness. When I was in Varrock last, there was a fairly small poverty-stricken ruined area in the great city, but that area seemed to have grown in my absence. I saw many homeless people in the richer areas of Varrock.

We walked into the famous Varrock square. I was expecting a lot of noise and cheering in the Varrock square because it was New Year's Eve, but it was practically deserted. People darted through the square, peering around suspiciously. This confused me; had Varrock really become that dangerous?

A golden archway led into the courtyard of a huge, golden and bronze palace. I assumed this was the Varrock palace. We went through this golden archway. We appeared in a glorious courtyard. We were surrounded by beautiful gardens, tall trees, and shimmering stone fountains of different shapes and sizes. We were walking on a path that led up to massive open doors. Guards patrolled the area. On the sides of the castle, I saw paths that probably led to many different places. We walked down the path and through the open doors.

We appeared in a gigantic golden hallway. The floor was covered with marvellous golden symbols, and the walls were painted with white, gold, green and silver symbols. Big glimmering chandeliers hung from the ceiling, and many doors dotted the hallway, some open. I remembered the last time I was here. I didn't have much time to examine my surroundings because at the time I was in the middle of a terrible war.

We went to continue, but we were stopped by some guards.

"What are you here for?" the guard asked. He sounded tired. "Are you here for the party?" We all nodded. "May I see your invitations?" We all showed him our invitations. He checked all of them, and nodded. "Follow me," he gestured. "I'll take you to Queen Ellamaria's flower garden, where the party is being held." We followed him through many long and winding corridors until we arrived at another open door. This led outside. We walked through, into the party.

We were in a fairly large garden. Bushes, trees and pots filled with every flower imaginable filled the garden. People stood around in expensive clothes, holding food or glasses of drink, chatting animatedly. A butler in a black suit approached us, holding a tray holding glasses full of wine on it. We took some glasses off the tray, thanking the butler.

On the far end of the garden, a long table with all kinds of food and drinks on it stood. The food and drinks varied, from party favourites such as meat pies, beer and pizza, to strange dishes that I'd never seen before. There was a large open area behind the table. Some people were running around, setting something up. I assumed they were setting up fireworks for later. Nearby, on my left, there was another open area. People were dancing here. A stage had been set up, and the famous RuneScape Rockers were playing on this stage.

A man in a long, red gown wearing a diamond-studded golden crown approached us. He wore purple silk clothes and there was a jewel-studded silver-and-bronze dagger attached to his robes. He smiled warmly at us.

"Hello," he grinned. "Welcome to my party. I am King Roald, and this is my wonderful wife, Ellamaria." A similarly-dressed woman approached him and stood next to him, also greeting us. Sir Amik Varze shook both of their hands. Other people from our group approached them and bowed/curtsied. I approached them, and bowed.

"You must be Mainiac97," King Roald chuckled. "You're the great hero everybody has been discussing recently. Apparently, you were the one who slew Master Samuel and stopped the animal possession and the strange events. We are grateful for that. You see, possessed zombies from the wilderness were constantly attacking Varrock in groups, and it was growing increasingly difficult to keep them back. Your actions stopped the zombies and have given us time to recover from the attacks. Thank you."

"Also, you were the one who slew Delrith a long time ago," Queen Ellamaria added. "We are also grateful for that." I accepted their thanks, shook their hands. "We have a lot planned for tonight. It is currently 9:10pm. The party will continue like this until 11:30pm. We will set off some fireworks, and we will light our biggest firework exactly ten minutes before the New Year. Aggie the witch (the person who has been put in charge of arranging the fireworks) has spent almost a month creating this gargantuan firework." We all nodded enthusiastically. Somebody else arrived and King Roald and Queen Ellamaria turned to greet them. We walked away to join the party.

I made a beeline for the food and I filled my stomach with meat, pizza and cake. I must have drunk at least a keg of beer and I felt ever so slightly tipsy. I'd grown a resistance to alcohol after a short period in Falador where I became depressed and grew a temporary drinking problem; this beer was probably especially strong because I couldn't think clearly.

I began dancing with Amy11. I wasn't an expert at dancing and I found myself stepping on her feet many times. She just laughed and continued dancing. Osrie1 tried coercing me into drinking more, but I declined. The last thing I wanted to do was make a fool of myself in front of King Roald.

As I danced with her, I looked at her. She wasn't looking at me, but I could tell that she could sense my stare and was simply ignoring it. I'd grown so close with Amy11. We weren't technically in a relationship but everybody took it for granted that we were. We both knew what we really felt for each other deep inside. We'd had many, many close moments together, and we were becoming even closer since we were living in the same house. We knew that we both loved each other since a time earlier this year, when we went in the Falador Park together for the first time.

The music switched from a fast-paced song to a slower song. Our dance steadily got slower and closer. We stopped for a second and we stared into each other's eyes. I bent my head down and our lips got very close. Not for the first time, they met, and we shared a moment of passion together.

Our kiss was separated by a series of screams. I looked up reluctantly, and spotted a firework whizzing around overhead, sputtering sparks and embers. It was potentially dangerous. I'd had a lot of experience with extinguishing fireworks, so I grabbed a nearby large mug of water and splashed it over the firework when it came within splashing range. The firework fell to the floor. People cheered for a few seconds before returning to whatever they were doing before. I kicked the damp firework angrily. It had interrupted a special moment between Amy11 and I, a moment that would be difficult to recreate.

The night wore on and butlers began pouring from the castle to refill the table and offer more food to the party-goers. Soon, 11:30pm arrived, and the sky filled with a colourful array of sparks. A crowd gathered by the table to watch the fireworks. The crowd let off the occasional gasp of amazement, and the odd 'ooh' and 'ah'.

After a set amount of time, the firework display stopped, and the familiar figure of Aggie the witch, along with a group of helpers, carried out a colossal firework which was as tall as my house and as thick as the pillars in the Grand Exchange. Two helpers trailed an immeasurably long rope over their shoulders. The rope was spread out as much as possible, and was lit. A red flame travelled slowly down the rope. Massive blue numbers appeared in the sky, counting down from ten minutes to the New Year.

At that moment, a big metal ball fell onto the dancing enclosure. People backed away from it, frightened. A few seconds later, it exploded, and the area filled with smoke. Pandemonium ensued. People ran left and right, bumping into objects or other people. All that could be heard were screams and yells of confusion. Sooner or later, the smoke cleared slightly, allowing some sight. I heard a familiar roaring noise, and my heart dropped instantly. We had party-crashers.

A motorbike flew through the smoke and landed on the stage, which the RuneScape Rockers had evacuated. The Black Fly pressed a button on the side of the motorbike, and the bike seemed to disappear into itself to form a metal tablet of some sort. The Black Fly put this 'tablet' in a pocket on his leather shirt, and his so-called 'sky stick' materialised underneath him. He pulled out his dangerous green sword, and sent it flying into the ground. He pulled it back out, and let out a bellow.

The ground began shaking, and the dancing area seemed to part as the Brown Beetle drilled his way through the ground. He jumped into the air, and dived back into the ground. He appeared again, and he stood up and dusted himself off. A guard ran forward bravely to attack the Brown Beetle, but the guard was mauled badly by the Brown Beetle's drills.

We heard flapping noises, and we saw the Silver Wasp and the Pink Butterfly fly to the ground. The Pink butterfly pulled out her black tube and she sent a stream of fire towards the crowd. Everybody jumped back. The Black Fly jumped onto the ground, holding his 'sky-stick' underneath his arm. The Demon Clan stood together, smirking at the surrounding people.

"We are the Demon Clan, and we are back!" the Black Fly yelled. "We have also had an upgrade. Our motorbikes are upgraded and more dangerous than ever. We have also recruited new members. Behold!" Another roaring sound filled the garden, and two additional motorbikes flew through the now-clearing smoke to join the rest of the Demon Clan. These motorbikes looked different. They were entirely red, and they had spikes coming from them. These two people wore red leather with metal spikes on them. The men pressed buttons on their arms and their helmets disappeared into the rest of their armour, revealing their faces.

They were twins. They had long, black, greasy hair, and hazel eyes. Their skin was pale, and their lips were blood-red. I frowned. They looked suspiciously like… I shook the disgusting thought out of my head. But my fears were confirmed when they grinned. They had fangs. I was in the presence of vampire twins. I felt my blood turn to ice and I felt my heart speed up. My breathing grew heavy. I stepped backwards.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I proudly present to you the newest members of our clan, the Red Leeches!" The Black Fly yelled. "They've been aptly named. People, fear them, for they are vampires." I heard many gasps and many screams. Word had spread of the Falador murders and vampires were now feared. One of the Red Leeches held his arm up, and a volley of spikes flew from his arm. People scattered, and many people were impaled with the spikes. It was terrible to watch.

"We are not the only gatecrashers you will be facing today, though," the Black Fly hissed. "We have teamed up with another clan of sorts." Three figures seemed to fall from the sky. My heart seemed to sag even lower if that was possible. These people were the Noob Exterminators. Madrey1 was as intimidating and as burly as ever. He towered above everybody else. Phantom and Rogue stood in the background.

"Hello, noob," Madrey1 hissed in my ear. "As you can see, we have met some friends who have something in common with us, that being a hatred for you." The Red Leeches jumped forward, and one of them grabbed me by the neck.

"I recognise you," he spat in my ear. "You were in the sewers when our vampire clan leader was killed by a werewolf. We managed to flee with our lives. Allow me to elaborate.

"We once belonged to an ancient family of very rich vampires, but because of reasons I'd rather not share we were forced to leave the house. We joined Mort's clan in the Stronghold of Security. Of course, we left, moved to the sewers, and joined a murderous plot planned out by a traitorous white knight commander. Of course, you should know what happens from there. We just happened to have the misfortune of meeting a werewolf in the sewers, and, as I said, we managed to flee with our lives.

"We lived on the streets of Falador, disguised as tramps. It was suspicious for many reasons. The fact we are twins made us stand out. Our fangs and our abnormally pale skin made us look suspicious, and Falador is a city with very few tramps. Since the murders, security had tightened so it was no longer safe for us. We moved to Varrock.

"Varrock was, at the time, going through a disaster. They were constantly putting up with zombie attacks, crime problems, homelessness problems, and etcetera. We would fit in perfectly. We could feed easily because nobody would notice us. We spent a long time in Varrock, and we began hearing rumour of a war happening in Falador.

"We were exploring the sewers one day, and we met the Demon Clan. They'd recently escaped from prison. They introduced themselves, explained who they were, and we did the same. They asked if we wanted to join their clan, and in the end we agreed. Their technology and their weapons seemed amazing to us, and our abilities would be helpful to them. They promised us a lot of food if we joined and so far they've kept their promise.

"They made us armour, gave us motorbikes and showed us how to use them. We soon met the Noob Exterminators who had quite a few things in common with the Demon Clan, including a hatred for you and a thirst for revenge. We've been plotting this for a while."

The Red Leech that had been telling the story to me finished, smiling evilly. I was thrown into the air and I smashed into the table, groaning.

People began screaming and fleeing for their lives. The Demon Clan spread out and began attacking the guards and Glory Troopers, one by one. The only Demon Clan member that hadn't joined in the massacre was the Black Fly. He was flying towards me, growling. I gulped, and dived downwards. Something picked me up. I looked up to see Madrey1. The Black Fly flew down and grabbed me by my shirt. He picked me up, and threw me downwards. Madrey1 caught me, and threw me back. The Black Fly caught me, and repeated. They were playing a game with me!

They grew bored and let my battered self fall to the floor. I stood up, coughing. I looked at the blue numbers. The New Year would come in three minutes! I felt something sharp pierce my back. I turned around and saw one of the Red Leeches holding a red dagger. I tried punching him, but he grabbed my fist and turned it around. I moaned with pain, and tried kicking him. He jumped upwards and landed on my chest. I was knocked backwards, winded. I unsheathed Silverlight, and tried striking him. I dented his leather armour but I didn't harm him.

He grabbed me by the hair and he threw me into the fireworks enclosure, near the giant firework. All of the Noob Exterminators and Demon Clan stepped into the enclosure. They began attacking me severely. I tried fighting back but it was no use. I was pummelled, stabbed and smashed into oblivion.

I managed to open one black, bruised eye to see the numbers counting down. There was a minute and a half until the New Year!

"Let's start the New Year with a bang, shall we?" Madrey1 sneered. I had a sneaking suspicion as to what he planned to do. He picked me up by the hair and pushed me into the giant firework, almost knocking it over. Phantom stepped forward and cast a bind spell on me. I was tied to the firework with magical ropes, and there was a minute before the firework would set off and bring me with it.

I usually managed to evade death by some strange force, but now there looked like no possible means of escape. I was in no good position to look up a teleportation spell or even cast it. No matter how much I struggled, I couldn't break the binds. All of the Noob Exterminators had gathered and were laughing at me. Madrey1 stood very close to me, surveying me with a hawk's eye, making sure I couldn't escape. The minute was slowly passing…

I considered what I'd done when I was in similar positions. I usually escaped by luck. _How did I escape by luck, though?_ I thought. Then it hit me, the glorious idea, and the magical lifesaver. I didn't need runes to use these; it didn't take much effort to use them. I could do them whenever I wanted within reason. All I needed was emotes. I used the few seconds I had left to create a very rough plan.

"Ten! Nine! Eight!" the Noob Exterminators and the Demon Clan chanted. I used my 'sparks' emote and my 'trick' emote to distract Madrey1. I used my 'seal of approval' emote, and I slipped through the ropes and underneath Madrey1's legs. I grabbed my bag quickly.

"Seven! Six! Five!" One of the Red Leeches sent a shower of metal spikes flying towards me, and I used my Stronghold of Security shield emote to protect myself from the spikes. I used my 'dragon fire' emote to distract Madrey1 some more. I used my 'freeze' emote, and I grabbed Madrey1's arm. We both froze. 'Freeze' finished and I turned back to normal, while Madrey1 remained frozen. I pushed him aside.

"Four! Three! Two!" One of the Red Leeches jumped forward, and I used my 'give thanks' emote and I transformed into a turkey. He flew over me and smashed into the firework. I turned back into a human, and with lightning-quick thinking I cast a bind spell on him. He was tied to the firework with only a second to spare to break out.

"…one! HAPPY NEW YEAR!" everybody screamed, and flames exploded from underneath the firework, knocking everybody in the enclosure backwards. The firework flew upwards with the Red Leech still attached to it. All we heard was a scream before the firework exploded, literally filling the sky with colourful sparks and lights. The crowd cheered and clapped while the Demon Clan and the Noob Exterminators stood there, their mouths open with amazement. They'd been outsmarted by emotes.

The surviving Red Leech roared with rage and jumped towards me. I managed to hold my ground against him with Silverlight temporarily before he was called away.

The force from the firework had sent Madrey1's helmet flying off into the crowd and had smashed him into the table corner. Without a helmet, he'd hit the table pretty hard. He stood up, groaning, rubbing a lump forming on his head. He joined the rest of the group. I could tell he was enraged and simply trying his best to hold it back.

"The Demon Clan may have lost a member, but we are still strong!" Madrey1 shouted. "We can still crush you all!" For a second I was frightened by the pure fury of the Demon Clan and the Noob Exterminators before I saw the crowd. There was a second of silence, before the crowd burst out laughing. I couldn't help but chuckle myself at the bewildered look on Madrey1's face.

"What's so funny?" Madrey1 demanded. "Why are you all laughing? We're threatening to destroy you!" I stepped forward.

"You see, you were intimidating at first," I giggled. "But your threats are now a joke. You are all very high levelled, yet you were outsmarted and defeated by me. I used purely emotes and a bind spell or two, and I still managed to slip from your grasp. I managed to kill a member of your group! They are finding it difficult to take you seriously." Madrey1 seethed with anger for a second before smashing the floor, creating a small tremor. Everybody instantly went silent. The Black Fly put his hand on Madrey1's shoulder.

"Don't lose your temper, or you'll put us all in hot water," the Black Fly warned. "We're not in the best position. We're down one member, we're being ridiculed by a noob, and we are surrounded. We've just blown our cover. It would be different if we'd managed to kill him, but we didn't and guards are closing in on us as we speak. We could try and fight our way out but the crowd might get cocky after seeing that fiasco, and they may try fighting back. If we're unlucky we might be outnumbered, and I am not going back to any sort of prison or dungeon. I think it would be best to flee." Madrey1 sighed, and nodded. The Black Fly threw down a small metal ball, and smoke exploded from it. I coughed as the whole clearing filled with smoke.

I heard a bone-chilling voice in my ear. "You may have killed my twin, but the Demon Clan will come back for our vengeance," the voice hissed. "We're not working with those bumbling fools the Noob Exterminators again; they completely ruined what could have been a perfect attack. When I next see you I will personally rip your entrails out through your mouth, and that is a promise. Goodbye." The voice then disappeared.

The smoke cleared, and nobody from the Demon Clan or the Noob Exterminators was there. One or two people lay on the floor nearby, dead. These people were pale, cold and there were bite marks on their necks; it was obvious what happened to them.

The party re-started, but it was very slow and the atmosphere was very different. People seemed very twitchy, and many people had left. I felt sorry for King Roald; his party had been ruined. I imagined that he was furious at the moment and he wouldn't stop until the Demon Clan and the Noob Exterminators had been brought to justice.

I was even more scared of the Demon Clan. They had a massive powerhouse on their clan now, in the form of the Red Leech. I hated vampires, and I hoped that I'd never have to face one again after today. Worse yet, he was angry and thirsty for revenge. Losing a family member, especially a twin, was probably a horrible experience and I doubted he'd rest until my head lay on a platter.

I considered my feelings involving the death of one of the Red Leeches. I couldn't say I enjoyed killing. I cast the bind spell on him purely out of instinct. If I'd had more time to think I probably would have hesitated and thought "what if this was me?" It almost was me. On the other hand, though, I was glad I'd managed to turn the tables. One less vampire existed because of my actions. Vampires deserved no mercy, especially vampires who joined groups such as the Demon Clan.

King Roald approached me and thanked me for my quick thinking. He said he was honoured to see a hero in action, and he also mentioned that seeing somebody get killed in such a fashion was not something that was seen every day. I was rewarded with two experience lamps, a sum of money, and most importantly, King Roald's friendship.

I helped myself to a drink, and I sat down, sipping it thoughtfully. I considered the year that had passed. It had been both wonderful and dreadful. I'd had many happy and joyful moments over the year, but I'd seen people die. I'd seen the death of Master Samuel, but his supporters lived on, biding their time. I still had enemies in the forms of the Noob Exterminators and the Demon Clan, and this had just been proven to me. I still haven't discovered my past, and I still couldn't decipher Ilookgood99, but I understood that some questions are never answered.

I wondered what the New Year would bring to me. I wondered whether I'd see any more wars. I wondered how many adventures I'd have. But, most importantly, I wondered whether I had a place reserved in Death's book for this year. I realised that one day I would return to the Calm Space. I wondered all of these things, and more.

* * *

_I hope that was to your liking. I have added the Red Leech(es) to the character list. Involving the name of the crab, the name 'Heimlich' was submitted by Haseo the Terror of Death and I picked it because it made me chuckle._

_Most of what could be said about 2010 was covered by Mainiac97 in the chapter, but I have something to add. 2010's been an amazing year, but it's seen the end of this story. Could 2011 see the beginning of something as good, if not better? That is entirely up to you. Keep reading to see what I mean._

_Many people have approached me to say they are interested in seeing a sequel to this story, so I have figured out a way to confirm exactly how many people would like to see one. On my profile, I have created a poll on the subject. Whether you'd love to see a sequel, think it's an idiotic idea, or don't care either way, go to my profile and vote in my poll to express your opinion. If you are anonymous and would like to 'vote', then leave an anonymous review saying your vote and I shall count it. Every vote counts!_

_Even if this story is done, I have many other plans. I will update you on anything noteworthy. I hope everybody had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and simply... until next time, toodles!  
_


	88. Easter Special 2011

_Hello, hello, hello, what's happenin' readers?_

_Happy Easter to everyone! This is 2011's Easter special chapter. If you happen to spot mistakes/typos, please point them out to me in a review/a PM so I can correct them. Thanks._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Jagex, RuneScape, or any of the RuneScape characters. All I own is the plot of this fanfiction and some of the characters in the story. I am not making a financial profit from this story._

* * *

_**Easter Special 2011 **_

I sat in my house, in my new workshop, looking aimlessly at the half-finished chair that I'd been building.

Months had flown by since New Year's Day, and Easter was now only days away. I'd been greatly looking forward to it. I always enjoyed the eggs, the chocolate, and the inevitable visit from the Easter Bunny. A market had been set up in Falador selling a large variety of Easter goodies, including baskets, bunny-related merchandise, hot cross buns, as well as Easter eggs!

I'd been keeping myself very, very busy over the last few months. I'd done a lot of work on my house. I had decided to extend my sitting room and add a farming garden next to my portal garden so I could grow some of my own plants and improve my farming level. I'd built a study where I could do work, write, read and generally muse over my oak globe. I'd built a workshop recently (which I was currently sitting in) where I could built furniture and either keep it, sell it or give it away as gifts. I'd built a storage room where I stored all of my building supplies, and I'd built a spare bedroom that guests could sleep in. I'd also built three empty rooms, one of which I planned to use to make stairs in. I was considering building a long dining hall branching off from my kitchen, so I could host formal dinners and parties, but at the moment these were still ideas. Needless to say, my construction level had improved greatly.

All of these rooms had been built in a rectangle shape, leaving room in the middle. In the middle there was my pet garden where Gobbles the turkey and Heimlich the Heim crab lived. There was room for an additional garden, so I'd used that space for outdoor decorations, including some benches, a fountain in the shape of an imp, some trees, and some flowers.

Over the last few months, I'd been doing work in Karamja for some additional money, skill-building and simply a constructive way to spend my time. I worked in a banana plantation, helping with the picking, packing and shipping processes. I also did a lot of fishing in Karamja; the people fishing on the dock were usually nice people and I had good conversations with them while fishing.

Karamja was an awe-inspiring place. The village that I worked in had a clear view of the jungle, the volcano and the sea. The beach spread out, yellow and glorious, and sometimes I enjoyed wandering down to the beach with Osrie1 and Amy11 to explore the caves.

I decided to continue working on my chair. While I did so, I reflected on Varrock in its current state. It was struggling with heavy poverty and crime issues, and the current source of crime was the Demon Clan, led by the Black Fly. After the events of the New Year party, they'd hidden somewhere and recovered after the blow to their pride. About a month later, they made a massive public appearance in the courtyard of the palace and caused a lot of destruction. The Varrock guards and the Glory Troopers were currently hard at work tracking down the hideout of the Demon Clan.

I finished my chair and I stared at my handiwork proudly. I decided to feed my pets, so I fetched the birdfeed and the crab flakes and I stepped into my pet garden. As I was feeding Gobbles and Heimlich, I stared into the sky sadly. Grey clouds floated pointlessly in the sky, depressing everybody who looked at them. It was springtime and I was expecting warmer weather.

The weather had been quite confusing recently. Since it was springtime, the weather should have been growing warmer, but it wasn't. As a matter of fact, in some areas it was still snowing! The weather was very unnatural, and people were growing suspicious. It was confusing the wildlife.

At that moment, a small circle of grass crumpled, creating a hole. A very familiar bunny crawled through the hole, sniffing the air cautiously. The Easter Bunny spotted me and hopped towards me.

"Mainiac97!" he huffed. "I have been looking for you!"

"Hello, Easter Bunny," I greeted warmly. "How are you? How is the egg production?"

"I'm very well, thank you," he replied. "Thankfully, the egg production is fine and it isn't the reason why I've come to see you. But before I explain why I'm here, I'd like to ask you something. Have you noticed the unnaturally cold weather?"

"Yes," I said. "It's been awful. It's springtime, yet it's still snowing! It's growing suspicious."

"Yes," the Easter Bunny sighed. "There is a good reason for that, too. Let me explain.

"The Land of Snow is in a separate plane of reality to RuneScape, and it moves around every year, in the blank space of existence. When winter approaches the Land of Snow gets closer to RuneScape, making RuneScape cold and making cold weather. It's really what gives us our winter, and it is part of the natural cycle of life. If that is taken away our environment will collapse.

"As you may know, winter is turning into spring, and the Land of Snow is moving away from RuneScape. But, this year, the Ice Queen doesn't want winter to end. She wants to see RuneScape in a permanent state of winter because, simply, she can't see why winter must move on. All she sees is winter, day after day, and she doesn't seem to comprehend the fact that winter must move into spring. So, as a result, she refuses to let go of the year; the Land of Snow isn't budging because she's making it stay. That's why winter is dragging on. That's why the weather remains cold."

I let the words of the Easter Bunny sink in. I was blinded by shock. I simply put the unnatural weather down to the spring and the warm weather being slow. I didn't realize that something much bigger was happening behind the scenes. I opened my mouth to ask questions, but the Easter Bunny made a motion that told me he wasn't finished, and I let him speak.

"Anyway," the Easter Bunny continued. "There is another being, a lady called the Queen of Sunrise. She is the queen over a place called the Land of Sunlight. She is a powerful lady who has the capability to bring spring and create plant life. Sunshine seems to glow from her skin. When she saw what the Ice Queen was doing she grew angry because she was upsetting the balance of nature. She proceeded to try and force spring upon RuneScape. The Ice Queen reacted violently and increased her efforts of trying to force winter. They've began a battle of the seasons, so to speak. This appears to be upsetting the environment further.

"They've now met up and they're currently warring for the year in a place called the Land of Holly and Hawthorn, which is a land which resides between the Land of Snow and the Land of Sunlight. Normally it defines the current season; in the winter it's cold and snowy and in the summer it's warm and full of nature. However, because of the battle of the seasons the land has mutated into something ugly. The battle has to be stopped, otherwise it could start to kill the wildlife on RuneScape and eventually kill life in general."

"I see," I said. "This is serious, but there are two things I don't quite understand. The first thing is why have you, of all people, been sent to tell me this? Secondly, what am I supposed to do?" The Easter Bunny chuckled.

"I'm the one who's delivering the message because, according to the Queen of Sunrise, I define the spring. If I was present at the battle she feels that it would help define the spring to the Ice Queen and it would show her why she must let the year go. I told her about you and what you did previously and she sent me to fetch you. I'm personally very busy, with Easter in a few days, but this war is too important for me to overlook as a waste of time.

"I'm telling you this because I think you should help. You've proven your capability, and you've saved Easter twice before, once from a mad, greed-crazed wizard, and once from a filthy, jealous leprechaun. I feel that your participation in the war could prove beneficial. So, will you help us?"

I realized how important this weird war between the seasons was, and I realized that the year needed to go by and the spring needed to come in order to restore balance to nature. I nodded, and the Easter Bunny gestured for me to jump into the hole. I obliged, and I found myself getting sucked through a curious system of underground tunnels.

I appeared on the top of a cliff. I dusted myself off, and I saw the Easter Bunny appear next to me.

"Darn," he cursed. "I've appeared too far up. I meant to appear closer down." I saw what he was looking at, and I realized I was overlooking the whole Land of Holly and Hawthorn. I gasped as the meaning of the Easter Bunny's words struck me.

The Land of Holly and Hawthorn was simply a very large clearing surrounded by mountains. On one side of the clearing, holly trees and pine trees stood tall. The ground on this side of the land was covered with snow and snow still fell. Yet, creepily, the snow didn't fall on the other side. On the other side of the land, the ground was ripe with green grass and flowers of all kinds. Hawthorn trees stood. The two sides summarized the two seasons; winter and spring. Where the two sides met, everything had mutated. Fresh green grass and snow-covered land swirled around each other to form a spiral of spring and winter. Here, snowmen and snow imps battled against plants that had come to life; vines, branches from trees, roots from the ground, etcetera. Adventurers stood on both sides, helping with the fighting.

In the very middle, the grass had mutated to become weirdly green and white. Two figures stood opposite each other here. I recognized one of them as the Ice Queen. Her cold face currently displayed pure fury as she blasted what looked like a blue ray at the figure opposite her. Snow seemed to pour from her hands, and the white furs she wore whipped up around her as her skin seemed to let loose a blizzard.

The figure she was blasting at seemed very different. This woman wore a small (and revealing) dress which seemed to be made from grass and flowers, which was mostly pink. She had blonde hair which fell to her neck, and her skin glowed with what looked like sunlight. She wore a beautiful golden crown with a red gem on the front, and this crown also glowed with what looked like sunlight. She was also firing some sort of beam, except this attack was yellow and glowed brightly. Flowers grew at her feet. I could only assume she was the Queen of Sunrise.

"So what am I meant to be doing?" I asked the Easter Bunny while we climbed down from the cliff gingerly.

"Well, you could chop down the Evil Trees," he replied. "That would be helpful."

"What are Evil Trees?" I questioned.

"Evil Trees are trees that have been overtaken by the spirits of nature and have malicious intent. The Land of Holly and Hawthorn is filled with the spirits of nature, so, naturally, Evil Trees are appearing everywhere. Some of our hawthorn trees have been overtaken by the spirits of nature and have become Evil Trees, and these Evil Trees are getting in our way. Could you possibly help chop these trees down?" He pointed towards a particularly large tree. My blood turned cold when I saw that the tree had almost tripled in size, and had grown a very menacing face. It had grown arms, and it was currently thrashing around angrily. Adventurers surrounded the tree and were in the process of trying to chop it down. Roots sprung up from the ground surrounding the tree and were attacking anybody who dared to go near them.

"I thought that the Queen of Sunrise could control nature," I wondered. "Why can't she use her powers against the Evil Trees?"

"I asked her that exact question," the Easter Bunny muttered. "Apparently, she can but it takes some effort and she needs to concentrate all of her efforts on the Ice Queen at the moment. That's all I could understand." I nodded. "Do you have an axe and a tinderbox?" I nodded again. "Okay. Approach it carefully." I walked slowly towards the furious tree.

As soon as I was a few feet away from it, a large root sprung from the ground and hit me aggressively across the back. I collapsed, hissing with pain. I grabbed my axe and proceeded to chop it up. I ended up with some thick, heavy root pieces. I got closer to the tree and had to step back a bit as it swerved violently in my direction. The other adventurers greeted me cordially. I greeted them back, and I smashed my axe into the tree. It left a mark, but apart from that it didn't do much difference. I repeated my actions and it left another mark to accompany the hundreds of other marks surrounding its thick trunk.

I saw a person nearby trying to set some root pieces on fire near the trunk of the Evil Tree and I decided to try the same thing. I put the root pieces on the ground and I scraped my tinderbox over them. Sparks flew everywhere. I repeated the motion a few times, and the root pieces finally caught fire. I threw them near the base of the tree, and the flames slowly crept up the trunk of the tree. It screeched loudly, forcing me to cover my ears. One side of the Evil Tree was now crackling with flames, causing it obvious damage.

I decided that logs would be more effective than root pieces, and I proceeded to chop down a nearby hawthorn tree. The tree fell down, and I collected the hawthorn logs. A massive blow came to my stomach, and I was knocked backwards. The Easter Bunny stood there, holding a clay hammer in the shape of a carrot, fuming.

"What's the meaning of this?" he yelled. "You're only supposed to kill the Evil Tree, not the surrounding hawthorn trees!" I whispered an apology, and I explained my actions. "I can see why you did it, but if you need kindling, use the root pieces or branches from the Evil Tree, or logs from a holly tree, at least. I wouldn't suggest chopping down a holly tree on the snowy side of the Land of Holly and Hawthorn just for kindling, because not only would it waste time, but you'll probably be attacked. Now that you have those logs you may as well use them, but please don't do it again or the Queen of Sunrise will have no mercy on you, despite your good intentions." I thanked the Easter Bunny, and I ran back to the Evil Tree. I set the logs on fire and put them at the base of the tree. Just like last time, the flames crept up the trunk of the tree, and it screeched with displeasure again.

This wrestling with the tree continued for at least twenty minutes before it started crackling and crumbling. It let off such a terrible, unearthly noise that I half-expected steam to come pouring from my ears. I roared, and I struck it so hard that the resulting mark caused the tree to crack further. After battling it some more, it finally let off a final scream and it collapsed. Logs, branches, dirt and root pieces flew everywhere as the tree crumbled and literally exploded. We all whooped and cheered as the dust settled. In the middle of the wreckage, there was a bird's nest filled with seeds, coins, and nuggets of gold. The adventurers surrounded the nest and the rewards were dispersed evenly. We all helped ourselves to the roots and the logs. I approached the Easter Bunny, grinning widely.

"Congratulations," he smiled. "I saw that. You did quite well, for somebody who is new to Evil Trees. As you can see, when you destroy an Evil Tree it always leaves rewards of some kind inside a bird's nest. The logs are usually logs of the wood that the Evil Tree was made of; in this case, hawthorn. Also, the roots of an Evil Tree can be quite valuable, especially to woodcutters and lumberjacks. We need to destroy any Evil Trees that appear here, because they sap the energy from the ground that our warriors (or plants) need, and they serve as a nuisance to any adventurers who help us. Oh, look, another Evil Tree is forming!" I looked at where he was pointing and I saw a normal hawthorn tree mutating, growing arms, growing a face, and growing larger. People were already surrounding it and trying to chop it down. I decided to join them.

While I was attacking it, I sadly watched the Ice Queen and the Queen of Sunrise as they battled each other viciously. I felt that the fighting was unnecessary, and I desperately wanted it to end. This war was the result of the Ice Queen's desperation and greed, and how badly she'd used her powers. She was stubborn, and she couldn't see that her actions would collapse RuneScape's environment and, as a long-term effect, would kill all life as the food chain would be ravaged by the foul weather. It needed to be stopped. I didn't know how, but I needed to stop it.

I jumped towards the Ice Queen and I pushed her. She stumbled slightly, and she turned to me, focusing on me with her cold, hard eyes.

"You're a selfish woman!" I screamed. "Why can't you see the truth behind your wicked actions? You'll annihilate RuneScape's environment!"

"Mainiac97," she whispered. "The Queen of Sunrise is the selfish one, trying to force spring upon RuneScape. I expected better off you. You've helped avert disasters many times, but if you're going to be an obstacle, then I am going to have to stop you." Several snowmen approached me. I unsheathed Silverlight and I smashed them all to pieces. However, they reformed out of nearby snow and continued to attack me with their small swords and daggers. I used some fire spells and I melted them to puddles. Several snow imps jumped on me while more cast spells at me. I warred, raging at the nerve of the Ice Queen. I saw the Ice Queen and the Queen of Sunlight shooting at each other, and I saw what I had to do. It was the only way.

I pushed the imps off me, and I jumped between the two queens as they fired their attacks. Both rays hit me simultaneously, and both queens shouted with shock and surprise. I felt myself crumple with pain as the full effect of the attacks struck me like boulders. I felt myself go limp. I suddenly found myself float in the air, and I felt my mouth move without me even wanting to say anything.

"The Land of Holly and Hawthorn is filled with our spirits," I croaked in a strange voice that didn't feel like mine. I was confused; I wasn't the one who was saying this. My intention was to try and stop, or at least disrupt the fight, but something different was happening. "We are displeased by the battle here. The egotistic actions of some of the people here disgust us. We are the spirits of nature, and we cannot allow you to murder us in your self-obsessed craze to upset the natural balance.

"You seem to be forgetting who suffers as a result of your actions; Mother Nature. If winter stays for a longer period than intended, it will kill the life we preserve. Winter turns into spring, and spring turns into summer, than the cold returns in autumn, then winter comes back. It completes the cycle and it's the way life intended.

"Why don't you consider us, the elements, nature in general? After all, we're suffering directly as a result of your selfish needs. The rocks and the ground feel too cold… the clouds and the sky is tired of dropping snowflakes and rain… the seas are still freezing, and crave the warmth of the sun… if you won't stop, we must stop you."

Suddenly, the wind picked up really heavily, blowing so hard the trees were bending over. I felt myself roar with rage that didn't feel like my rage. I picked up Silverlight and I raised it high. It glowed so brightly it hurt to look at it. I stared down at the upset look on the Ice Queen's face. I felt myself fly down towards her and strike her hard with Silverlight. She shrieked, and she fell back. All of the snowmen melted instantly.

"Let the truth crash around your ears, Ice Queen," I howled before striking her again. She cowered before me. Suddenly, the wind stopped. I felt a presence lift from me, and the pain returned. I moaned, and I collapsed.

The Queen of Sunrise and the Easter Bunny ran towards me, concern etched in their faces. The Queen of Sunrise stroked my wounds, and they healed slightly. A small tree grew next to her, bearing fruit. She offered me the fruit and I ate it gratefully. I sat up, staring around.

"What just happened?" I murmured, still exhausted after that encounter.

"I'm not too sure," she replied nervously. "I think that, when our attacks hit you, they reacted violently with your strong will to stop the fighting. This seemed to have opened you up spiritually to the spirits of nature, and they took the opportunity to use your body to express their displeasure about our battling. They used Silverlight to hit the Ice Queen with what they described as 'the truth'. It's mysterious, but perhaps this will show the Ice Queen the error of her ways."

The Ice Queen stood still, staring into space, somber. She finally turned to us.

"I owe you both an apology," she said quietly. "I also owe nature an apology for disrupting it so badly. The actions of the spirits of nature through the means of Mainiac97 have proven to me how wrong I was to try and force winter upon RuneScape. I'd only cause destruction with my everlasting love of anything cold and wintry. Queen of Sunrise, I'm sorry for attacking you. Mainiac97, I'm sorry that our attacks hurt you so. Here's a token of both my regret and gratitude." She waved her hand, and a crown made of ice formed. She gave it to me. "That is called the icicle crown. It is a replica of the crown I wear. If you ever feel that things are getting too… warm, touch the crown and it will cool everything down."

I thanked her. She turned and she raised one hand in the air. "Let winter turn to spring!" she bellowed. Everything glowed brightly, and when the glowing faded the Land of Holly and Hawthorn had been completely cleared of snow. The grass was green, and all holly trees had been transformed into hawthorn trees. There was no sign of mutated ground, snow imps or snowmen. With a flash, she was gone.

The Queen of Sunrise tapped me lightly on the shoulder. "You deserve a reward from me too, for proving beneficial in the attempt to bring spring," she said. "Here is a replica of my crown; the sunbeam crown." A crown that looked exactly like the crown she was wearing formed in her hand. This crown also glowed with what looked like sunlight. "If things are dark, touch the crown and it will create the light of the sun to guide your path," she explained. "Also, touching the crown will reveal to you if an Evil Tree has formed/ is forming somewhere in RuneScape, and, if it is, where it can be found. It's also been enchanted so, if you ever feel like returning here, touching it with the will to come back will teleport you here. Also, allow me to teach you a new emote called 'invoke spring'."

She touched my head, and suddenly flowers, green grass, and vines grew around my feet. "Use that emote and the plants of spring will grow by your feet, and the spring winds will blow through your hair for a few seconds. You can also control the vines temporarily."

I thanked her for the reward, and the Easter Bunny hopped towards me. He burrowed a hole, and he told me he was returning to his factory. He asked me if I wanted to join him. I accepted, and I jumped into the hole. It carted me to his factory.

The factory was exactly the way I remembered it; massive machines moving along, creating glorious Easter eggs. Imps and squirrels worked hard to make eggs and meet demand. The Easter Bunny offered me a seat, and we had a conversation. We discussed a variety of topics; the events that had just passed, Evil Trees, Easter, and the subject of Master Samuel also cropped up. I explained what had happened to him (purposely leaving out the part involving my death and the Calm Space), and I expressed my worry of what James' next move would be. He understood and he wished me luck.

After a while he gave me a large basket filled with Easter eggs, hot cross buns, coffee beans, small crème eggs, and even one or two experimental Easter eggs flavored with coffee beans. I thanked him for his generosity, and I left.

I went to Diango for my two previous Easter rewards from past Easter events that I didn't do. There was only one left, and that was a rubber chicken which was used for hitting other people with. There wasn't anything else left for me to collect, so Diango gave me an experience lamp instead. I went to store my icicle crown, my sunbeam crown, my lamp, my basket of treats, and my rubber chicken.

Easter soon came, and I enjoyed the day relaxing with Osrie1 and Amy11, eating. I explained to them what had happened and they didn't believe me until I took them to the Land of Holly and Hawthorn and showed them myself. I was going to attend a celebratory Easter feast later on in the day, and I looked forward to it. I looked in the sky; the sun was up and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. I felt relief, shuddering as I realized what would have happened if winter stayed forever.

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_I hope you enjoyed that chapter. This chapter was loosely based off Jagex's 2011 Easter event 'Holly and Hawthorn'_, _but I've made large changes to the plot of that event in this chapter.  
_

_I understand that this chapter was pointless to an extent, but I hope you enjoyed it regardless. I originally wasn't going to write this chapter but in the end I decided to. I enjoyed writing it._

_Involving the possibility of a sequel, nothing is certain. The poll deciding it is still up, so if you want to see a sequel, or don't want to, or don't care, and you haven't already voted, I suggest you do so to get your opinion heard.  
_

_I've written a special Easter one-shot which is in my story 'The Adventure Through RuneScape - The One-Shots', if anybody is interested._

_Until next time, toodles!  
_


	89. Summer Special 2011

_Hello, hello, hello, what's happenin' readers?_

_I hope all of you are having an enjoyable summer, and I hope you enjoy this relaxed special. NOTE: Please read the author notes I've put at the bottom of this special, because there you'll find a big announcement.  
_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Jagex, RuneScape, or any of the RuneScape characters. All I own is the plot of this fanfiction and some of the characters in the story. I am not making a financial profit from this story._

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_**Summer Special 2011**_

I sat in a small chair on a beach in Karamja, my tongue lolling out of my mouth, as lifeless as a plank of wood. My straw hat sat on my head, somewhat shielding it from the glaring sun far above. I sighed, feeling perfectly relaxed. The soft slapping of the gentle waves soothed me, lulling me into a trance-like state. Tranquillity filled me like warm water.

Suddenly, something tugged at my feet and I found myself getting dragged through the sand into the sea. I spluttered, struggling against my attacker. My hat came off my head and began floating away. I forced my way to the surface, gasping for air. I turned to face my attacker, and I found myself faced with Osrie1 laughing heartily. I roared, and I pushed him into the sea and we scuffled for a while before giving up, chuckling. I recovered my hat and I climbed out of the sea, passing a giggling Amy11 as I did so.

As I found my place on my chair again, I considered the year that was passing. The year had been mostly peaceful. Port Sarim felt like home now, and we were friendly with the locals. I hadn't encountered the Noob Exterminators or the Demon Clan since New Year's Day. The Demon Clan had been active in Varrock earlier in the year, but now they'd settled down and nobody had seen or heard anything from them for a while. I'd also heard or seen nothing of James and what remained of Master Samuel's army for a while too. I had no idea what James was concocting right now, if anything.

I stared around me at the beach. The beaches on Karamja were excellent; the water was clean and cool, the sand was fine, and the beaches themselves were vast. Because right now it was summertime, it was especially warm and the sky was particularly clear. The beach was dotted with people sunbathing, relaxing and just generally enjoying themselves and taking advantage of the wonderful weather.

I saw something rolling across the sand. I concentrated on it. It was a stall of some sort, with a large window installed. It was currently on wheels to make it mobile. I recognised it from somewhere… after a minute I recognised it as an ice cream stall that appeared every summer to sell cold, creamy, refreshing treats to anybody who wanted them. I remembered one being in Falador last summer. I dived in my bag to fetch some coins, and I raced towards the cart eagerly.

I arrived, and the overpowering smell of cream, chocolate and fruit swept over me. I peered inside the stall, and I saw the familiar mage doing hand motions to freeze and spin the cream. The man behind the stall smiled politely at me.

"Hello," he grinned. "What can I get you?"

"Could I have a chocolate ice cream please?" I asked. He fetched me my ice cream. I paid for it, and ate it there contently. I shivered as the cold dessert went down my throat. I savoured the sweet taste of the chocolate.

"You don't normally set up a stall on this beach, do you?" I queried between mouthfuls.

"No, we don't," the man replied. "However, these beaches are becoming more popular this summer, so we've decided to send out a mobile stall to the beaches to make some more money here. It's ideal." I nodded, returned the pot, thanked the man, and returned to my chair.

Amy11 and Osrie1 approached me. "We've been wondering…" Amy11 began. "We've been going to Karamja regularly for a while now, but we've never properly explored to see what we can find. We were wondering; would you like to go through the nearby jungle so we can get to the volcano? We can climb to the top (or at least as close as we can to the top) and see the view of Karamja, to see what we can fully explore." I considered it for a second, before deciding it wouldn't do any harm to do some exploring. I nodded, and we left the beach.

We walked up the path from the beach contently, and soon we arrived at a crossroad. One path would lead back to the village, while the other tailed off towards the edge of the jungle. "Does anybody need anything in the village?" I asked. Osrie1 and Amy11 shook their heads, so we followed the path that would take us to the jungle.

Sooner or later, the path finished, and we were on the edge of a colossal collection of gigantic tropical trees. All that could be seen was green; strange and eerie noises could be heard coming from within the jungle's shadowy realms. We looked at each other nervously, before stepping amongst the trees.

At first, walking through the jungle wasn't particularly difficult. The trees were a reasonable distance apart, and we'd encountered no wildlife as of yet. But as we progressed the trees seemed to grow closer together, and greenery began obstructing us. It wasn't long before I was forced to unsheathe Silverlight and use it to cut through the vines. I figured that a machete would be better at that job.

We began encountering wildlife soon after that. We started seeing a large variety of insects crawling around, and we startled several monkeys. Snakes slithered around our feet (much to Amy11's disgust), and the further we progressed, the more violent the snakes became. Several tried snapping at our feet, and some even pounced for our necks. It occurred to us that we couldn't turn back now. We could only keep going.

Our perseverance paid off, and we found ourselves at the base of the famous Karamja volcano. The three of us high-fived each other, and began climbing the large mountain.

As we climbed, we began to notice cracks in the ground. Osrie1 and Amy11 were avoiding the cracks, and I snorted. I could never fully appreciate why people were so paranoid about stepping on cracks. Some people believed that it brought misfortune. In an attempt to show my rebellion to nobody in particular against the idea, I made an effort to step on every crack I saw.

I could see we were nearing the top because we were passing small rivulets of lava, which were growing more and more. The cracks were growing larger, but I persisted in stepping on them. But it wasn't long before I got my foot stuck in one of them. I sighed and chastised myself for persisting with my pointless rebellion. "Hey, wait a second!" I yelled to Amy11 and Osrie1. "I'm stuck!" They turned around, and laughed openly at my situation. I grew red with embarrassment because of my predicament. I struggled to remove my foot, but my attempts at escape only seemed to make the crack wider. My foot sunk deeper, if anything. I decided to stop struggling and wait for my friends to come and assist me after they'd finished laughing at me. But the crack seemed to grow and my foot sunk deeper, until most of my leg was stuck in the crack. "Seriously," I said. "Help me!" Osrie1 and Amy11 saw what was happening and they urgently began tugging at my arms to try and yank me out of the crack. The crack widened suddenly and I slipped through, screaming.

I landed with a thud far below in complete darkness. I rubbed my back, grunting with pain. I couldn't see a thing. I felt around me, and all I could feel was cold, hard rock. "Fire strike!" I yelled. A small ball of flame came from my palm. I muttered a quick hovering spell, and the crackling ball of flame floated there. It was a very useful trick that I liked to use when mining in dark mines.

I inspected my surroundings, and I saw that I was in a long tunnel. I looked up, and I saw a large crack. That was probably the crack I'd fallen through. I made a promise to myself at that very moment to never purposely step on large cracks for no good reason again. I sighed to myself, realising I could only follow the tunnel now and hope that it would lead me back to the surface, since going back up the crack I'd fallen through would be difficult, if not impossible. I reluctantly began my journey down the tunnel.

The tunnel was swelteringly hot, and I soon found myself sweating profusely. I remembered that I was currently inside a volcano, and I was probably going in deeper. I began seeing traces of lava in the rocks surrounding me, and as I went further the traces of lava were becoming more numerous. It wasn't long before veins of lava were everywhere, and my ball of fire wasn't necessary any more because the lava illuminated the tunnel.

I reached a fork in the tunnel, where the tunnel split into three tunnels. I decided to follow the middle tunnel. The tunnel was now splitting up into several, and I had no idea where they all led.

I passed a large pile of rocks. Lava poured from every slight crack in these rocks. This lava wasn't like the rest of the lava; it was blindingly bright. I was distracted by the brightness of this lava. I poked the rock curiously with the tip of my steel sword, and suddenly the pile of rocks started shuddering. I jumped back in shock as massive legs and arms made out of rock and lava sprouted from the pile of rocks. A head appeared from the pile, and two eyes dripping with lava leered at me. I was standing face-to-face with a monster made out of rocks and lava.

The creature lumbered towards me, roaring. I stumbled backwards, startled and, as a reflex movement, I stabbed the creature with Silverlight. It let out a sound so monstrously loud the whole tunnel seemed to shudder. I heard a smashing noise, and I saw two similar-looking creatures run down the tunnel towards us. I noticed some differences between these creatures and the one I just attacked. The two that had just arrived held weapons, and seemed slightly larger than the one I hit.

"JalYt!" one of the creatures bellowed. "How dare you attack a TzHaar-Hur!" I didn't understand much of what the creature said to me, but I could understand that they were very angry about something. I stepped backwards as the three creatures approached me menacingly. I realised that they were much larger and much stronger than me, and I also realised that they were probably going to attack me, so it was unwise to fight them. I turned and I ran down the tunnel while they attempted to give chase.

I tore down the tunnel as fast as my legs could carry me, panting. The creatures were considerably larger than me but they still attempted to chase me. I saw an end to the tunnel in the distance, so I raced towards it, hoping it would take me to an exit of some sort. I ran through, and I saw no exit. Instead, I was now in a large cave.

I was surrounded by dozens of creatures. The place I'd ran into looked a lot like a town of some sort. I was shocked to see that there were humans in here as well, some of which even appeared to be conversing with the creatures! I looked behind me, and I saw the creatures not far behind me, so I ran into the cave and I hoped that they wouldn't spot me.

I needed somebody to explain to me where I was and what these monstrous beings were, so I approached a man wearing rune armour and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned to me and smiled politely.

"Can I help you?" he asked, watching me carefully.

"Yes," I replied. "Could you please explain to me where I am? You see, I was climbing the volcano when I fell through a crack and appeared in a tunnel." I proceeded to explain to him what happened involving the monsters that were chasing me, and he nodded occasionally. When I finished, he seemed slightly amused.

"I can tell you why you were being chased by these creatures. You see, the 'monsters made out of rock and lava' you speak of are called the TzHaar," the man explained. "They're a species that have made a home here. The place you are in is called 'TzHaar City'. There are certain people in the TzHaar species that do different jobs. You must have attacked a TzHaar-Hur, a type of TzHaar that do the crafts, weapon-making and such in here. They are highly respected yet weaker than other TzHaar, and if attacked they will call for assistance. That's why they attacked you; you accidently tried to harm a TzHaar-Hur. I warn you, do not attack the TzHaar any more, because they are very cautious about outsiders and you really do not wish to incur their wrath. They are powerful fighters. If you wish to fight safely with them, you should look for the Fight Pit."

"That explains a lot," I said. He nodded.

"There's a lot more to them than that, obviously," he told me. "I could stay here all day and explain to you everything about the TzHaar and this city, but I really believe you should explore, do some research by yourself and get to know the city and the species better." I asked him for the way out, and he gave me directions to an exit. I thanked him profusely for his help and I followed his directions.

I examined the TzHaar as I passed them, interested. They were very strange beings, and I certainly would be researching them in the library in Varrock when I returned. They looked very dangerous, but it occurred to me that if I didn't harm them, they wouldn't harm me. They were just very defensive.

Sooner or later I found myself by a ladder. There were no more veins of lava in the floor – I must have left TzHaar city. Nearby I saw some red spiders that looked slightly dangerous, so I decided to climb the ladder. As I climbed, I thought about RuneScape. The TzHaar were only one species out of hundreds and thousands of creatures, and at that moment I thought about how vast RuneScape was. I knew one day I'd return to TzHaar city, and then I'd be more prepared to explore it fully.

I appeared at the surface, not far from the top of the volcano, I walked higher up and I saw Osrie1 and Amy11 standing nearby. I called to them and they turned around, looking very relieved to see me. I began recounting my story, and as I did that, I looked out over Karamja. It was glorious, and I looked forward to exploring its depths very much.

* * *

_I hope that was to your liking. I hope my representation of the TzHaar was correct. If you spot mistakes I missed, please point them out to me. Thanks._

_I have a very big announcement to make. I have decided to write a sequel to 'The Adventure Through RuneScape'! The reason it's taken me so long to get to this point was due to me not feeling inspired enough, but now I feel inspired and ready to write! Thanks to everyone who showed their support and voted 'yes', or left a review/sent a PM supporting the idea of a sequel. Expect to see the first chapter of the sequel during September 2011. _

_Until next time, toodles!_


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